1
as in criminal
not restrained by or under the control of legal authority
the lawless rioters were destroying everything in sight
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2
as in illegal
contrary to or forbidden by law
the level of lawless activity in the territory had reached the point where the authorities felt compelled to act
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Examples of lawless in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
What happens now? July 7, 2024 In lawless Gaza, cigarette smuggling fuels attacks on aid trucks
July 8, 2024
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Shira Rubin, Washington Post, 12 July 2024
Andrew DiDomenico died because of an epidemic of lawless drivers who speed, drive impaired and distracted, said his aunt, Melissa Lombardi, Tuesday.
—Ed Stannard, Hartford Courant, 2 July 2024
What actually happened in this case is that five of the Court’s Republicans read the law in a way that minimizes the law’s impact on a particularly lawless band of Trump supporters, and they were joined by the Court’s sole former public defender.
—Ian Millhiser, Vox, 28 June 2024
The Past The Wild West was lawless and chaotic — and the police helped keep it that way
Lawmen and outlaws were often the same people.
—Big Think, 24 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for lawless 
Shira Rubin, Washington Post, 12 July 2024
Andrew DiDomenico died because of an epidemic of lawless drivers who speed, drive impaired and distracted, said his aunt, Melissa Lombardi, Tuesday.
—Ed Stannard, Hartford Courant, 2 July 2024
What actually happened in this case is that five of the Court’s Republicans read the law in a way that minimizes the law’s impact on a particularly lawless band of Trump supporters, and they were joined by the Court’s sole former public defender.
—Ian Millhiser, Vox, 28 June 2024
The Past The Wild West was lawless and chaotic — and the police helped keep it that way
Lawmen and outlaws were often the same people.
—Big Think, 24 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for lawless
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lawless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Lawless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lawless. Accessed 3 Aug. 2024.
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