lawful

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law·ful

(lô′fəl)

adj.

1. Being within the law; allowed by law: lawful methods of dissent.

2. Established, sanctioned, or recognized by the law: the lawful heir.

3. Obeying the law; law-abiding.

law′ful·ly adv.

law′ful·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

lawful

(ˈlɔːfʊl)

adj

(Law) allowed, recognized, or sanctioned by law; legal

ˈlawfully adv

ˈlawfulness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

law•ful

(ˈlɔ fəl)

adj.

1. allowed by law: a lawful enterprise.

2. sanctioned by law; legitimate: a lawful heir.

3. appointed or recognized by law; legally qualified: a lawful king.

4. acting or living according to the law; law-abiding.

[1250–1300]

law′ful•ly, adv.

law′ful•ness, n.

legal

– lawful – legitimate

1. 'legal' and 'lawful'

Legal and lawful both mean 'allowed by law'. Lawful is a formal word.

A breath test showed he had drunk more than twice the legal limit for driving.

Capital punishment is legal in many countries.

Hunting is a lawful activity.

All his activities had been perfectly lawful.

2. 'legitimate'

Legitimate means 'correct or acceptable according to a law or rule'.

...a legitimate business transaction.

Legitimate can also mean 'justifiable under the circumstances'.

Religious leaders have a legitimate reason to be concerned.

If someone is legitimate, their parents were married at the time they were born.

...evidence that he was his father's legitimate son.

3. another meaning of 'legal'

Legal also means 'relating to the law'. You cannot use lawful or legitimate with this meaning.

...the British legal system.

...legal language.

4. 'law' in front of nouns

You use law, not 'legal', in front of a noun when you are talking about someone or something connected with the study of law.

...a law student.

He had only just received his law degree.

Law also appears in the names of some places and institutions connected with the law.

...the Law Courts.

...the Law Society.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.	1.	lawful - conformable to or allowed by law; "lawful methods of dissent" legal - established by or founded upon law or official or accepted rules square, straight - characterized by honesty and fairness; "straight dealing"; "a square deal" unlawful - contrary to or prohibited by or defiant of law; "unlawful measures"; "unlawful money"; "unlawful hunters"
	2.	lawful - according to custom or rule or natural law rule-governed regular - in accordance with fixed order or procedure or principle; "his regular calls on his customers"; "regular meals"; "regular duties"
	3.	lawful - having a legally established claim; "the legitimate heir"; "the true and lawful king" rightful, true legitimate - of marriages and offspring; recognized as lawful
	4.	lawful - authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law; "a legitimate government" licit, legitimate legal - established by or founded upon law or official or accepted rules

lawful

adjective legal, constitutional, just, proper, valid, warranted, legitimate, authorized, rightful, permissible, legalized, allowable, licit lawful for the doctors to treat her in whatever way they considered best
banned, illegal, forbidden, prohibited, unlawful, illicit, illegitimate, unauthorized

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

lawful

adjective

Within, allowed by, or sanctioned by the law:

innocent, legal, legitimate, licit.

Slang: legit.

Translations

قانوني

legálnílegitimní

lovlig

rechtmäßig gesetzmäßig

θεμιτός νόμιμος

legal lícito legítimo

laillinen

légal légitime

törvényestörvényszerű

löglegurréttmætur

lecito legale legittimo

lovlig lovmessig

zakonit

yasalkanunî

依法的合法的

lawful

[ˈlɔːfʊl] ADJ [owner, government] → legítimo; [action, behaviour] → legítimo, lícito; [contract] → legal, válido
lawful wedded husband → legítimo esposo m
lawful wedded wife → legítima esposa f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

lawful

[ˈlɔːfʊl] adj (= allowed by law) → légal(e)
it is lawful to ... → il est légal de ...

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

lawful

adj → rechtmäßig; lawful wedded wife → rechtmäßig angetraute Frau; will you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband? → willst du mit diesem Mann den Bund der Ehe eingehen?

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

lawful

[ˈlɔːfʊl] adj → legale

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

law

(loː) noun

1. the collection of rules according to which people live or a country etc is governed. Such an action is against the law; law and order.

2. any one of such rules. A new law has been passed by Parliament.

3. (in science) a rule that says that under certain conditions certain things always happen. the law of gravity.

ˈlawful adjective

1. (negative unlawful) allowed by law. He was attacked while going about his lawful business.

2. just or rightful. She is the lawful owner of the property.

ˈlawfully adverb

ˈlawless adjective

paying no attention to, and not keeping, the law. In its early days, the American West was full of lawless men.

ˈlawlessly adverb

ˈlawlessness noun

lawyer (ˈloːjə) noun

a person whose work it is to know about and give advice and help to others concerning the law. If you want to make your will, consult a lawyer.

ˈlaw-abiding adjective

obeying the law. a law- abiding citizen.

law court (also court of law)

a place where people accused of crimes are tried and legal disagreements between people are judged.

ˈlawsuit noun

a quarrel or disagreement taken to a court of law to be settled.

be a law unto oneself

to be inclined not to obey rules or follow the usual customs and conventions.

the law

the police. The thief was still in the building when the law arrived.

the law of the land

the established law of a country.

lay down the law

to state something in a way that indicates that one expects one's opinion and orders to be accepted without argument.

References in classic literature ?

The Charter of the Forest designed to lessen those evils, declares that inquisition, or view, for lawing dogs, shall be made every third year, and shall be then done by the view and testimony of lawful men, not otherwise; and they whose dogs shall be then found unlawed, shall give three shillings for mercy, and for the future no man's ox shall be taken for lawing.

View in context

"Were it a question of lawful due Or a labourer's hire denied, Reason would I should bear with you And order it well to be tried But this is a question of words and names And I know the strife it brings, I will not pass upon any your claims.

View in context

Baggs's expostulations with the all-important marriage-words, "that I take this woman, Alicia Dulcifer for my lawful wedded wife."

Say 'I take this man, Francis Softly, for my lawful wedded husband.' "

Such was my Scotch marriage--as lawful a ceremony, remember, as the finest family wedding at the largest parish church in all England.

View in context

There is no going back; and, as bad luck would have it, our civilization, which has done so much for the comfort and adornment of our bodies and the elevation of our minds, has made lawful killing frightfully and needlessly expensive.

View in context

Jehan, be wise, Jehan, be learned, Jehan, pass not the night outside of the college without lawful occasion and due leave of the master.

View in context

That to sell Bibles was strictly lawful by all laws both Divine and human, and consequently there was no unfitness in it.

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But the mischief is that until peace is made and you come into the peaceful enjoyment of your kingdom, the poor squire is famishing as far as rewards go, unless it be that the confidante damsel that is to be his wife comes with the princess, and that with her he tides over his bad luck until Heaven otherwise orders things; for his master, I suppose, may as well give her to him at once for a lawful wife."

View in context

Every school, indeed, has its own traditionary standard of right and wrong, which cannot be transgressed with impunity, marking certain things as low and blackguard, and certain others as lawful and right.

"And so we get a double set of masters," cried Tom indignantly-- "the lawful ones, who are responsible to the Doctor at any rate, and the unlawful, the tyrants, who are responsible to nobody."

View in context

It would not be easy to determine whether our arrival gave us greater joy, or the inhabitants greater apprehensions, for we could discern a continual tumult in the land, and took notice that the crews of some barks that lay in the harbour were unlading with all possible diligence, to prevent the cargo from falling into our hands, very much indeed to the dissatisfaction of many of our soldiers, who having engaged in this expedition, with no other view than of filling their pockets, were, before the return of our Abyssin, for treating them like enemies, and taking them as a lawful prize.