The difference between Illegal and Illegal alien
When used as nouns, illegal means an illegal act or technique, whereas illegal alien means a person who is within the boundaries of a political state without the authorization of the government of that state.
Illegal is also adjective with the meaning: contrary to or forbidden by law, especially criminal law.
check bellow for the other definitions of Illegal and Illegal alien
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Illegal as an adjective:
Contrary to or forbidden by law, especially criminal law.
Examples:
"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."
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Illegal as an adjective:
Forbidden by established rules.
Examples:
"Moving a pawn backward is an illegal move in chess."
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Illegal as an adjective (philately, of an [[issue]] printed for collectors):
Totally fictitious, and often issued on behalf of a non-existent territory or country.
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Illegal as an adjective (of a person, sometimes, _, offensive):
Being or doing something illegally.
Examples:
"'illegal immigrant; illegal logger; illegal pilot"
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Illegal as an adjective (chiefly, US, sometimes, offensive):
Being an illegal immigrant; residing in a country illegally.
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Illegal as a noun (obsolete):
An illegal act or technique.
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Illegal as a noun (colloquial, plural, as '''''[[illegals]]'''''):
Contraband, esp. illegal substances such as drugs.
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Illegal as a noun (colloquial, offensive):
An illegal immigrant.
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Illegal as a noun (espionage):
A spy working abroad illegally and undercover, without visible ties to his or her country's authorities.
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Illegal alien as a noun (sometimes, _, offensive):
A person who is within the boundaries of a political state without the authorization of the government of that state; a national of another country who has entered or stayed without permission.