outlaw
UK/ˈaʊt.lɔː/US/ˈaʊt.lɔ/
outlaw noun: a fugitive from the law.
Noun
outlaw (plural outlaws)
- A fugitive from the law.
- “I am going to a certain tower, one of three that were built in my grandsire’s time to guard Lantern Waste against certain perilous outlaws who dwelled there in his day. […]"1956, C. S. Lewis, chapter 5, in The Last Battle, Collins, published 1998
- A criminal who is excluded from normal legal rights; one who can be killed at will without legal penalty.
- Synonyms:
- bandit, wolf's head
- A person who operates outside established norms.
- The main character in the play was a bit of an outlaw who refused to shake hands or say thank you.
- A wild or violent animal, such as a horse.
- An in-law: a relative by marriage.
- One who would be an in-law except that the marriage-like relationship is unofficial.
- A prostitute who works alone, without a pimp.
- Without a pimp, she was an "outlaw," likely to be harassed, or threatened with assault or robbery on the street.1977, Joseph Julian, Social Problems, page 463
- She was an outlaw. Chance is doing some double-checking to see if she had a pimp nobody knew about, but it doesn't look likely.2010, Lawrence Block, Eight Million Ways To Die
Verb
outlaw (third-person singular simple present outlaws, present participle outlawing, simple past and past participle outlawed)
- To declare illegal.
- To place a ban upon.
- The legal change in England and Wales will outlaw selling, manufacturing, renting or importing zombie knives.2016 August 15, “'Zombie knives' ban to come into force”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 30 Aug 2023
- And outlawing these AR-15s would not require confiscating them from people who already have them. Once you’ve made these weapons illegal, anyone found with one would be subject to arrest, since possession of these weapons would be a crime. I think it’s likely that you would see a lot of people...2022 June 5, Michael Fanone, “Opinion: Here’s the reason people tell me they want to buy an AR-15. And it’s simply ludicrous”, in CNN, archived from the original on 30 Aug 2023
- To make or declare (a person) an outlaw.
- Eirik and his people were outlawed at Thorsnes Thing.1880, John Sephton, transl., The Saga of Erik the Red
- AB has now gone beyond her original stance against gays as teachers and is now advocating a federal law to outlaw gays, a law which would override state law in the 19 states which have consenting adults sex laws.1978 February 11, Donald Cameron Scot, “Controversy and Boycott Must Continue”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 31, page 5
- To remove from legal jurisdiction or enforcement.
- to outlaw a debt or claim
- To deprive of legal force.
- our English common law was outlawed in those parts.a. 1662 (date written), Thomas Fuller, The History of the Worthies of England, London: […] J[ohn] G[rismond,] W[illiam] L[eybourne] and W[illiam] G[odbid], published 1662, →OCLC
Proper noun capitalized: Outlaw
Outlaw (plural Outlaws)
- A surname transferred from the nickname.
- In the book, Nathan Outlaw offers helpful advice and tips on buying the freshest fish and shellfish in a sustainably responsible way.2013, Nathan Outlaw, Modern Seafood
outlaw meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
outlaw in Tamil
- நாடுகடத்தப்பட்ட, ஒதுக்கிவக்கப்பட்ட
outlaw in Urdu
- outlaw, pariah, outcast
- اچھوت achūt
outlaw in Bengali
- to outlaw
- নিষিদ্ধ করা niśiddho kora
outlaw in Malayalam
- നിയമരക്ഷാഭ്രഷ്ടൻ, കുറ്റവാളി, കവർച്ചക്കാരൻ
More languagesFewer languages
- outlaw in Kannada
- ಕಾನೂನಿನ ರಕ್ಷಣೆಯಿಂದ ಹೊರದೂಡಲ್ಪಟ್ಟ ವಸ್ತು, ಶಾಸನಬಹಿಷ್ಕೃತ, ಶಾಸನಭ್ರಷ್ಟ, ನ್ಯಾಯಬಾಹಿರ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ
- outlaw in Tagalog
- taunlabas
Examples of outlaw in a sentence
- Bestiality was outlawed as an obscenity in the strongly conservative community.
- Many US states have outlawed studs due to the damage they cause to paved roads.
- By no means am I suggesting that euthanasia should be outlawed, but rather that we should look at its inherent risks.
Synonyms of outlaw
Forms of outlaw
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | outlaws |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | outlaws |
| present participle | outlawing |
| past participle | outlawed |
| past | outlawed |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Outlaws |
| alternative form | Outler |
| alternative form | Outley |
Origin of outlaw
From Middle English outlawe, outlagh, utlaȝe, from Old English ūtlaga (“outlaw”), borrowed from Old Norse útlagi (“outlaw, fugitive”), equivalent to out- + law. Cognate with Icelandic útlagi (“outlaw”).
From outlaw, a nickname for someone who no longer had the protection of the law.
Words formed from outlaw
Phrases with outlaw
Questions about outlaw
- What does outlaw mean?
- Outlaw means a fugitive from the law.
- What is outlaw in Tamil?
- Outlaw in Tamil is நாடுகடத்தப்பட்ட, ஒதுக்கிவக்கப்பட்ட. See Outlaw meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is outlaw?
- Outlaw can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce outlaw?
- Outlaw is pronounced /ˈaʊt.lɔː/ (UK).
- What is the plural of outlaw?
- The plural of outlaw is outlaws.
Words near outlaw in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: outlaw (page history and authors); Outlaw (page history and authors); outlaw (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); اچھوت (Urdu) (page history and authors); নিষিদ্ধ করা (Bengali) (page history and authors); outlaw (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); outlaw (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-outlaw.ogg.
Cite this entry: “outlaw.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/outlaw. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.