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legal Definition

le·gal (lē′gəl)

adjective

  1. of, created by, based upon, or authorized by law
  2. in conformity with the positive rules of law; permitted by law a legal act
  3. that can be enforced in a court of law legal rights
  4. of or applicable to lawyers legal ethics
  5. in terms of the law a legal offense
  6. Theol.
    1. of the Mosaic law
    2. of the doctrine of salvation by good works rather than free grace

Etymology: MFr légal < L legalis < lex (gen. legis), law, prob. < IE base *le-, to collect > L legere, Gr legein, to collect

noun

legal list

legal Related Forms
le′·gally adverb
legal Synonyms

legal

modif.

  1. In accordance with the law

    lawful, licit, legitimate, constitutional, statutory, permissible, admissible, allowable, allowed, proper, legalized, sanctioned, right, just, justifiable, justified, fair, prescribed, authorized, hereditary, accustomed, due, rightful, precedented, warranted, licensed, admitted, sound, conceded, granted, mandated, acknowledged, ordained, condign, equitable, according to equity, within the law, protected, enforced, enforceable, judged, adjudicated, adjudged, enjoined, decreed, contracted, contractual, from time out of mind, customary, chartered, de jure, clean*, legit*, straight*, on the up and up*; see also lawful, permitted.

    Antonyms illegal*, unlawful*, prohibited. *

  2. Concerning the law

    statutory, juridical, constitutional, judicial, forensic, jurisprudent, jurisprudential, jural, nomothetic; see also judicial.

legal implies literal connection or conformity with statute or common law or its administration legal rights; lawful refers to that which is permitted, recognized, or established by civil, religious, or moral law and may suggest conformity to the principle rather than, or in addition to, the letter of the law a lawful marriage, the lawful owner; legitimate implies legality of a claim to a title or right a legitimate heir or accordance with what is sanctioned or accepted as lawful, reasonable, etc. a legitimate argument; licit implies strict conformity to the law, especially in trade, commerce, or personal relations the licit sale of drugs

legal Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • advice: Legal advice should be sought in cases of doubt.
  • requirement: The service is designed to comply with legal requirements covering the disposal of such waste.
  • obligation: Travel permits meet the legal obligation of the District Council to provide travel concessions.
  • aid: Legal aid plays a key part in helping the justice system work.
  • proceeding: Your client may not be eager to embark on legal proceedings in respect of any personal injury at an early stage.
  • profession: The legal profession should be barred from the process.

Modifying Another Word

  • perfectly: On querying this, he assured me it was perfectly legal.
  • strictly: Furthermore, on strictly legal grounds, the fairest thing to do would be to charge both of them for assault.
  • only: Currently abortion is only legal if it is performed by a doctor to save the life or health of the woman.
  • not: We will give you legal information, not legal advice.
  • now: And with the new rule changes from the R&A this product is now legal for you to use in all forms of golf competition.

Infinitive complement

  • drive: You may be concerned about driving following loss of sight in one eye, however it is legal to drive with sight like this.
  • use: It is legal to use in the US and most other countries as it is considered a food supplement.
  • do: We won't receive a warning or an error - technically it is legal to do this: it just doesn't make sense.
  • park: It is legal to park on yellow lines at traffic lights if you drive a white van. !

Used with adjective complement

  • remain: Reassuringly, all of these things will, at least in the meantime, remain legal in this aspiring Member State!
  • change: Prwora changed legal also eliminate the schip outreach and new york new.

Preposition: in

  • state: K&N stock replacement filters are backed by their Million Mile Limited Warranty and are emissions legal in all 50 states.
  • circumstance: A significant number of students who say they are pro-life think abortion should be legal in some circumstances.

Preposition: under

  • law: He said the company had acquired rights to it in a deal that was legal under the laws of a recognized sovereign state.
legal Quotes

Imaginethepositionofthemodernarchitect.Picturethe young fellow to be put into a 'profession' because trade is considered beneath him (another antiquarian prejudice).The young fellow hasn't exactly got a legal mind, like father; he's not much good at essays, so he can't write; he faints at the sight of blood so can't be a doctor. What isthere for him to do? Architecture of course.

—Betjeman, SirJohn

The function of criticism is the reeducation of perception of works of art† The conception that its business is to appraise, to judge in the legal and moral sense, arrests the perception of those who are influenced by the criticism that assumes this task.

—Dewey,John

The more legal and material hindrances women have broken through, themore strictlyand heavilyand cruelly images of female beauty have come to weigh upon them.

—Wolf, Naomi

The Frenchhad a moremartial air thanthe English.There seemed to be a species of military instinct in all classes. No young man appeared to have finished his education till after a bloody campaign† They were at this singular period, without the least exaggeration, a century behind us in notions of legal and moral responsibility.

—Haydon, Benjamin Robert

A legal gentleman who rescues your estate from your enemies, and keeps it himself.

—Vaux

OG = PLR ¿ AEB: the opportunity for graft equals the plethora of legal requirementsmultiplied by thenumber of architects, engineers and builders.

—Birns, Harold