Meanings
- lawbeyond the legal power or authority of a person or body
Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants’ actions were ultra vires and violated the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
2025 June 19, “Gavin Newsom v. Donald J. Trump”, in United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, page 21 more example
Acts of the Scottish Parliament, unlike Westminster, can be challenged in court on the basis that they relate to reserved matters and are, therefore, ultra vires.
2004 September 5, Scotland on SundaySynonyms: extra vires
Synonyms & antonyms
phrasebeyond the legal power or authority of a person or body
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivebeyond the legal power or authority of a person or official or body etc
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinultra vires“beyond the power”
- Englishultra vires
Unadapted borrowing from Latin ultra vires (“beyond the power”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
ultra vires. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ultra%20vires
“ultra vires.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ultra%20vires. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ultra vires,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ultra%20vires.
Source: ultra vires on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.