


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.


(Law) allowed, recognized, or sanctioned by law; legal
ˈlawfully adv
ˈlawfulness n


(ˈlɔ fəl)

1. allowed by law: a lawful enterprise.
2. sanctioned by law; legitimate: a lawful heir.
4. acting or living according to the law; law-abiding.
law′ful•ly, adv.
law′ful•ness, n.


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. 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.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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
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 claimlawful - having a legally established claim; "the legitimate heir"; "the true and lawful king"
legitimate - of marriages and offspring; recognized as lawful
4.lawful - authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law; "a legitimate government"


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


Within, allowed by, or sanctioned by the law:
Slang: legit.


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


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


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


[ˈlɔːfʊl] adjlegale


(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)
ˈlawsuit noun
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jehan, be wise, Jehan, be learned, Jehan, pass not the night outside of the college without lawful occasion and due leave of the master.
I have never been in the habit," said Don Quixote, "of taking spoil of those whom I vanquish, nor is it the practice of chivalry to take away their horses and leave them to go on foot, unless indeed it be that the victor have lost his own in the combat, in which case it is lawful to take that of the vanquished as a thing won in lawful war; therefore, Sancho, leave this horse, or ass, or whatever thou wilt have it to be; for when its owner sees us gone hence he will come back for it.
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.
So the fags were without their lawful masters and protectors, and ridden over rough-shod by a set of boys whom they were not bound to obey, and whose only right over them stood in their bodily powers; and, as old Brooke had prophesied, the house by degrees broke up into small sets and parties, and lost the strong feeling of fellowship which he set so much store by, and with it much of the prowess in games and the lead in all school matters which he had done so much to keep up.
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.
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.