lawful, legal, legitimate, licit mean being in accordance with law. lawful may apply to conformity with law of any sort (such as natural, divine, common, or canon).

By "proper" we mean that there is a lawful physical relationship between the distal property and the input.

Define lawful. lawful synonyms, lawful pronunciation, lawful translation, English dictionary definition of lawful. adj. 1. Being within the law; allowed by law: lawful methods of dissent.

LAWFUL definition: allowed or permitted by law; not contrary to law. See examples of lawful used in a sentence.

If an activity, organization, or product is lawful, it is allowed by law. It remains lawful to own these swords but not to carry them in public. Hunting was a lawful activity. They are trying to establish whether the …

Definition of lawful adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

There are 14 meanings listed in OED's entry for the word lawful, two of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

Dec 21, 2025 · From Middle English laweful, equivalent to law +‎ -ful, conflated with Middle English leful, leeful, leveful (“according to law, lawful, pertaining to law”). See also leveful.

law•ful (lô′ fəl), adj. Law allowed or permitted by law; not contrary to law: a lawful enterprise. Law recognized or sanctioned by law; legitimate: a lawful marriage; a lawful heir. Law appointed or …

Things that are lawful are allowed or permitted, like driving after you've gotten your driver's license or baking your neighbor a cake. Neither of these things is prohibited by law, so they're lawful. You have …