legality

L1E1G2A1L1I1T1Y4
Canada, US/liˈɡælɪti/

noun

Lawfulness.

Less commonScrabble 12

Meanings

nounlegality (countable and uncountable, plural legalities)

plural legalities

  1. countableuncountableLawfulness.

    Brought from all the recesses of the coast in all the legality of time contracts, lost in uncongenial surroundings, fed on unfamiliar food, they sickened, became inefficient, and were then allowed to crawl away and rest.

    1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 206

    Synonyms: legalness · Antonyms: unlawfulness, lawlessness, illegality, illegality, illegalness, unlawfulness, lawlessness, unlaw

  2. countablein pluraluncountableSynonym of legalistics (the legal aspects of an issue or deed).

    Synonyms: legalistics

  3. countabledatedobsoleteuncountablediceSynonym of chuck-a-luck.
    1 more example

    There was one game in particular called “legality,” in which the managers of the establishment played against all comers. It was a game in which six numbers were marked upon a board, the players staked upon a number, the keeper of the bank threw against the players, and according to whether they were successful or not in the number they backed, they won or lost.

    1888 August 13, “Police Intelligence: Clerkenwell”, in London Evening Standard, page 2

    Synonyms: chuck-a-luck

Synonyms & antonyms

nounSynonym of legalistics (the legal aspects of an issue or deed).

nounSynonym of chuck-a-luck.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

nounlawfulness by virtue of conformity to a legal statute

Opposite
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*leǵ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*lḗǵs?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*legʰ-
  4. Proto-Indo-European*lḗgʰs?
  5. Proto-Italic*lēks
  6. Latinlex
  7. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  9. Latinlēgāli
  10. Englishlegal
  11. Englishlegality

From legal + -ity.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic قَانُونِيَّة, مَشْرُوعِيَّة
  • قَانُونِيَّة (qānūniyya)lawfulness
  • مَشْرُوعِيَّة (mašrūʕiyya)lawfulness
Bulgarian законност, легалност
  • законност (zakonnost)lawfulness
  • легалност (legalnost)lawfulness
Catalan legalitat
  • legalitatlawfulness
Dutch wettigheid
  • wettigheidlawfulness
Finnish laillisuus
  • laillisuuslawfulness
French légalité
  • légalitélawfulness
German Legalität, Rechtmäßigkeit
  • Legalitätlawfulness
  • Rechtmäßigkeitlawfulness
Greek νομιμότητα
  • νομιμότητα (nomimótita)lawfulness
Hungarian törvényesség, törvényszerűség
  • törvényességlawfulness
  • törvényszerűséglawfulness
  • jogszerűséglawfulness
Italian legalità
  • legalitàlawfulness
Latvian likumīgums, likumība
  • likumīgumslawfulness
  • likumībalawfulness
Norwegian Bokmål lovlighet
  • lovlighetlawfulness
Polish legalność, prawność
  • legalnośćlawfulness
  • prawnośćlawfulness
Portuguese legalidade
  • legalidadelawfulness
Romanian legalitate
  • legalitatelawfulness
Russian зако́нность, лега́льность
  • зако́нность (zakónnostʹ)lawfulness
  • лега́льность (legálʹnostʹ)lawfulness
Spanish legalidad
  • legalidadlawfulness
Swahili uhalali
  • uhalalilawfulness
Ukrainian зако́нність, лега́льність
  • зако́нність (zakónnistʹ)lawfulness
  • лега́льність (lehálʹnistʹ)lawfulness
Welsh cyfreithlondeb
  • cyfreithlondeblawfulness

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with legality

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

legality. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/legality

MLA

“legality.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/legality. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “legality,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/legality.

Source: legality on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.