The difference between Illegal and Unlawful
When used as adjectives, illegal means contrary to or forbidden by law, especially criminal law, whereas unlawful means prohibited.
Illegal is also noun with the meaning: an illegal act or technique.
check bellow for the other definitions of Illegal and Unlawful
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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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Unlawful as an adjective (legal):
Prohibited; not permitted by law (either civil or criminal law; see illegal).
Examples:
"He was charged with unlawful use of a car."