illegal

illegal

See also: illégal and il·legal

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French illégal, from Medieval Latin illegalis, from Latin legalis. In senses relating to immigration, via clipping from illegal alien or illegal immigrant.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɪˈliːɡəl/
• (US) enPR: ĭ.lē'gəl, IPA^(key): /ɪˈli.ɡəl/, [ɪɫˈli.ɡəɫ]

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːɡəl
• Hyphenation: il‧le‧gal

Adjective

illegal (comparative more illegal, superlative most illegal)

1. Contrary to or forbidden by law, especially criminal law.

   This is illegal, you know!

   Nearly 40 million people live in UK areas with illegal air pollution

   their illegal mining operations in Asia, Africa and elsewhere, are protected by officials and police paid to look the other way – and powerful customers in the construction industry who prefer not to ask too many questions.

   • a. 1654, John Selden, “Money”, in Table-Talk, third edition, London: Jacob Tonson, published 1716, page 74:

     In all times the Princes in England have done ſomething illegal to get Money: But then came a Parliament and all was well, the People and the Prince kiſt and were Friends, and ſo things were quiet for a while.

   • 2013 July 19, Peter Wilby, “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 30:

     Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.

2. Breaching certain enacted statutes of positive law; not lawful, not legal (cf. immoral, unethical)
3. Forbidden by established rules.

   Synonym: unethical

   Moving a pawn backward is an illegal move in chess.

4. (philately, of an issue printed for collectors) Totally fictitious, and often issued on behalf of a non-existent territory or country.
5. (of a person, sometimes offensive) Being or doing something illegally.

   illegal immigrant

   illegal logger

   illegal pilot

6. (chiefly US, sometimes offensive) Being an illegal immigrant; residing in a country illegally.

Usage notes

The use of "illegal" to describe a person rather than an action is often regarded as offensive; see below.[1]

Synonyms

• (forbidden by law): criminal, felonious, illicit, unlawful, irregular
• (totally fictitious): bogus
• (being an illegal immigrant): undocumented

Antonyms

• (forbidden by law): lawful, legal

Derived terms

• illegal alien
• illegal immigrant
• no human being is illegal

Translations

contrary to or forbidden by law

Albanian: paligjshme Arabic: غَيْر قَانُونِيٍّ‎ (ḡayr qānūniyyin) Armenian: ապօրինի (hy) (apōrini), անօրինական (hy) (anōrinakan) Assamese: চোৰাং (süraṅ), আইন বিৰোধী (ain birüdhi),‌ অবৈধ (oboidh), বেআইনী (beaini) Asturian: illegal Belarusian: незако́нны (njezakónny), нелега́льны (njeljehálʹny) Bulgarian: незаконен (bg) (nezakonen), нелегален (bg) (nelegalen) Catalan: il·legal (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 非法的 (zh) (fēifǎ de), 不合法的 (zh) (bùhéfǎ de), 不法的 (zh) (bùfǎ de) Czech: ilegální (cs), nezákonný (cs) Dutch: strafbaar (nl), illegaal (nl), onwettig (nl) Esperanto: kontraŭleĝa Estonian: ebaseaduslik, illegaalne, seadusvastane Finnish: laiton (fi), lainvastainen (fi) French: illégal (fr) Galician: ilícito (gl), ilegal Georgian: უკანონო (uḳanono), არაკანონიერი (araḳanonieri), არალეგალური (aralegaluri), კანონსაწინააღმდეგო (ḳanonsac̣inaaɣmdego), აკრძალული (aḳrʒaluli) German: illegal (de), rechtswidrig (de) Greek: παράνομος (el) (paránomos), έκνομος (el) (éknomos), άνομος (el) (ánomos) Ancient: παράνομος (paránomos), ἀθέμιτος (athémitos) Hawaiian: kū ʻole i ke kānāwai, mawaho o ke kānāwai Hebrew: בלתי חוקי‎ m (biltí khukí) Hungarian: illegális (hu) Icelandic: ólöglegur (is) Irish: neamhdhleathach, aindleathach, mídhleathach, neamhdhlíthiúil Italian: illegale (it) Japanese: 不法の (ja) (fuhō no), 違法の (ja) (ihō no) Kazakh: заңсыз (zañsyz) Khmer: ខុសច្បាប់ (khosachbab) Korean: 불법적인 (bulbeopjeog-in) Kurdish: Northern Kurdish: neqanûnî (ku), qedexe (ku), memnûh (ku), yasax (ku), qaçax (ku), derqanûn (ku) Latin: illicitus Latvian: pretlikumīgs Lithuanian: neteisėtas Macedonian: незаконски m (nezakonski), незаконит m (nezakonit), противзаконски m (protivzakonski), нелегален m (nelegalen), и́легален m (ílegalen) Maori: turekore Mongolian: хууль бус (xuulʹ bus) Norwegian: Bokmål: ulovlig (no), forbudt, lovstridig, illegal Nynorsk: ulovleg Occitan: illegal (oc) Plautdietsch: onjesazlich Polish: nielegalny (pl) Portuguese: ilegal (pt) Romanian: ilegal (ro), nelegal (ro) Russian: незако́нный (ru) (nezakónnyj), нелега́льный (ru) (nelegálʹnyj), неправоме́рный (ru) (nepravomérnyj) Serbo-Croatian: ilegalan (sh), nezakonit (sh) Slovak: ilegálny, nezákonný Spanish: ilegal (es) Swahili: haramu (sw) Swedish: olaglig (sv), illegal (sv), lagstridig (sv) Tatar: яшерен (yaşeren) Thai: ที่ผิดกฎหมาย (Thī̀ p̄hid kḍh̄māy) Turkish: yasa dışı (tr) Ukrainian: незако́нний (nezakónnyj), нелега́льний (nelehálʹnyj) Uyghur: قانۇنسىز‎ (qanunsiz) Vietnamese: bất hợp pháp (vi), trái phép (vi) Welsh: anghyfreithlon (cy), anghyfreithiol (cy)

prohibited by established rules

Arabic: please add this translation if you can Bulgarian: забранен (bg) (zabranen) Catalan: il·legal (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: please add this translation if you can Finnish: sääntöjen vastainen Galician: ilegal m or f German: illegal (de) Greek: παράνομος (el) (paránomos), απαγορευμένος (el) (apagorevménos) Ancient: παράνομος (paránomos) Japanese: 違法の (ja) (ihō no) Korean: 반칙의 (ko) (banchigui) Kurdish: Northern Kurdish: qedexe (ku), memnûh (ku) Macedonian: недозволен m (nedozvolen), неправилен m (nepravilen) Maori: turekore Norwegian: Bokmål: ulovlig (no) Portuguese: ilegal (pt), proibido (pt) Romanian: ilegal (ro) Russian: непра́вильный (ru) (neprávilʹnyj), неве́рный (ru) (nevérnyj) Spanish: ilegal (es) Swahili: haramu (sw)

Noun

illegal (plural illegals)

1. (obsolete) An illegal act or technique.
   • c. 1650, John Spalding, The History of the Troubles and Memorable Transactions in Scotland, from the Year 1624 to 1645, volume II, Aberdeen: T. Evans, published 1792, page 72–73:

     That whatſoever illegals hath been uſed againſt his friends and ſubjects, by impriſoning them without law, or impoſing fines upon their eſtates, be diſclaimed, and that perſons ſo committed be forthwith diſcharged.

2. (colloquial, in the plural, as illegals) Contraband, esp. illegal substances such as drugs.
   • 2004, “Reapercussions”, in Dead Like Me, season 1, episode 4, spoken by Mason (Callum Blue):

     …I've got illegals in my bottom…!

   • 2008, J. D. Robb [pseudonym; Nora Roberts], Strangers in Death, Penguin, →ISBN:

     “Here’s what I could do,” Eve supposed. “I could slap your head against that wall, while I’m kicking your balls into your belly,” she added to the companion. “And after that, I can have you in restraints while I turn out your pockets. You’re carrying illegals.

3. (colloquial, offensive) An illegal immigrant.
4. (espionage) A spy working abroad illegally and undercover, without visible ties to his or her country’s authorities.
   • 2012, Christopher Andrew, ‘Colder War’, Literary Review, issue 399:

     Anna Chapman, whose glamorous appearance won her more publicity in the Western media than all the other illegals combined, was so successfully deceived by a US sting operation that she handed over her SVR laptop to an FBI agent posing as a Russian.

   • 2022 August 26, Shaun Walker, “Socialite who charmed Nato staff in Naples was Russian spy, say investigators”, in The Guardian‎:

     Traditionally, illegals have been extremely hard for counterintelligence agencies to find, but in a world of biometric data, facial recognition software and open source investigation possibilities, it has become harder for Russia to keep its illegals below the radar.

Usage notes

• The use of "illegal" to describe a person, rather than an action a person has undertaken, is often regarded as offensive.[2][3][4] The use of "illegal" as a noun is especially charged.[1]

Synonyms

• (illegal immigrant) crimmigrant, illegal immigrant

Translations

illegal immigrant

Armenian: ապօրինի ներգաղթյալ (apōrini nergałtʿyal), անօրինական ներգաղթյալ (anōrinakan nergałtʿyal) Bulgarian: незако́нен имигра́нт m (nezakónen imigránt) Catalan: immigrant il·legal m Chinese: Mandarin: 非法移民 (fēifǎ yímín), 黑民 (hēimín) Dutch: illegaal (nl) m or f, sans-papiers (nl) m Esperanto: senpasportulo, senpasportulino Finnish: laiton maahanmuuttaja French: sans-papiers (fr) m or f, clandestin (fr) m, immigrant illégal m, immigrante illégale f Galician: ilegal m or f Georgian: არალეგალი (aralegali), არალეგალური იმიგრანტი (aralegaluri imigranṭi) German: Illegaler m, illegaler Einwanderer m, illegale Einwandererin f, Sans-Papiers m or f (Switzerland) Greek: λαθρομετανάστης (el) m (lathrometanástis) Hungarian: illegális bevándorló Italian: immigrato illegale m, clandestino (it) m Japanese: 不法入国者 (ふほうにゅうこくしゃ, fuhō nyūkokusha) Korean: 불법 체류자 (bulbeop cheryuja), 불체자 (bulcheja) Malay: pendatang tanpa izin Portuguese: ilegal (pt) m or f, imigrante ilegal m or f Romanian: imigrant ilegal m Russian: нелега́л (ru) m (nelegál), нелега́лка (ru) f (nelegálka), нелега́льный иммигра́нт m (nelegálʹnyj immigránt), нелега́льная иммигра́нтка f (nelegálʹnaja immigrántka) Spanish: ilegal (es) m, inmigrante ilegal m, sin papeles Swedish: illegal invandrare c

undercover spy

Russian: нелега́л (ru) m (nelegál)

References

1. (please provide the title of the work)‎, accessed 22 July 2013, archived from the original on 2013-06-05
2. Charles Garcia (2012-07-05) Special to CNN‎, CNN:

   When you label someone an "illegal alien" or "illegal immigrant" or just plain "illegal," you are effectively saying the individual, as opposed to the actions the person has taken, is unlawful. The terms imply the very existence of an unauthorized migrant in America is criminal. In this country, there is still a presumption of innocence that requires a jury to convict someone of a crime. If you don't pay your taxes, are you an illegal? What if you get a speeding ticket? A murder conviction? No. You're still not an illegal. Even alleged terrorists and child molesters aren't labeled illegals.

3. Jacob Chamberlain (2013-04-13), “AP Finally Agrees: “No Human Being is Illegal””, in Common Dreams‎
4. Steve Padilla and Selene Rivera (2016-04-03), “Library of Congress to stop using term 'illegal alien'”, in Los Angeles Times‎

Anagrams

• gill-ale

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Asturian

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin illēgālis, from Latin lēgālis corresponding to i- +‎ llegal.

Adjective

illegal (epicene, plural illegales)

1. illegal

Antonyms

• llegal

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Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin illegalis.

Adjective

illegal

1. illegal

Inflection

Inflection of illegal
	Positive	Comparative	Superlative
Common singular	illegal	—	—2
Neuter singular	illegalt	—	—2
Plural	illegale	—	—2
Definite attributive1	illegale	—	—
1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used. 2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Synonyms

• ulovlig, forbudt

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German

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin illegalis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪleɡaːl/

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

illegal (strong nominative masculine singular illegaler, not comparable)

1. illegal

   Synonyms: gesetzwidrig, strafbar, ungesetzlich

Declension

Positive forms of illegal (uncomparable)

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter	all genders
predicative		er ist illegal	sie ist illegal	es ist illegal	sie sind illegal
strong declension (without article)	nominative	illegaler	illegale	illegales	illegale
	genitive	illegalen	illegaler	illegalen	illegaler
	dative	illegalem	illegaler	illegalem	illegalen
	accusative	illegalen	illegale	illegales	illegale
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der illegale	die illegale	das illegale	die illegalen
	genitive	des illegalen	der illegalen	des illegalen	der illegalen
	dative	dem illegalen	der illegalen	dem illegalen	den illegalen
	accusative	den illegalen	die illegale	das illegale	die illegalen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein illegaler	eine illegale	ein illegales	(keine) illegalen
	genitive	eines illegalen	einer illegalen	eines illegalen	(keiner) illegalen
	dative	einem illegalen	einer illegalen	einem illegalen	(keinen) illegalen
	accusative	einen illegalen	eine illegale	ein illegales	(keine) illegalen

Derived terms

• Illegaler (“illegal / illegal immigrant”), Illegale (“illegal / illegal immigrant (female)”)
• Illegalität

Further reading

• “illegal” in Duden online
• “illegal” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

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Occitan

Pronunciation

• Audio (Languedocien)

  (file)

Adjective

illegal m (feminine singular illegala, masculine plural illegals, feminine plural illegalas)

1. illegal

   Antonym: legal

Derived terms

• illegalament
• illegalizar

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Portuguese

Adjective

illegal m or f (plural illegaes)

1. Obsolete spelling of ilegal