Word.ws English Dictionary

outlawry

UK/ˈaʊtlɔːɹi/

outlawry noun: a declaration that an individual cannot benefit from the protection of law in a jurisdiction.

Noun

outlawry (countable and uncountable, plural outlawries)

  1. (historical) A declaration that an individual cannot benefit from the protection of law in a jurisdiction.
    • Notwithstanding any disposition made or to be made , by virtue or colour of any attainder , outlawry , fugacy , or other forfeiturec. 1649, John Milton, Observations upon the Articles of Peace with the Irish Rebels […]
    • The palace was confiscated, and its rich furniture sold; the Marchese di Montefiore was summoned to appear on a charge of sorcery; he came not to answer the accusation, and sentence of outlawry was passed against him.1832, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Heath's Book of Beauty, 1833, The Enchantress, pages 42–23
  2. The state of being an outlaw; lawlessness.
    • Through this ‘passing-out ceremony’ the apprentice became both proven in reliability and bound, Faust-like, to the rebel cause by his act of outlawry.1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York: Review Books, published 2006, page 134
    Synonyms:
    outlawdom
    Antonyms:
    inlawry

Synonyms of outlawry

Antonyms

Forms of outlawry

pluraloutlawries

Origin of outlawry

Inherited from Middle English outlawerie (equivalent to outlawe + -erie), after Anglo-Norman utlagarie /utlarie and Medieval Latin utlagaria, both from Old English utlagu + Latin -aria (suffix that forms abstract nouns from other nouns). By surface analysis, outlaw + -ry.

Questions about outlawry

What does outlawry mean?
Outlawry means a declaration that an individual cannot benefit from the protection of law in a jurisdiction.
What part of speech is outlawry?
Outlawry is a noun.
How do you pronounce outlawry?
Outlawry is pronounced /ˈaʊtlɔːɹi/ (UK).
What is the plural of outlawry?
The plural of outlawry is outlawries.

Words near outlawry in the dictionary

  1. outlawing
  2. outlawish
  3. outlawism
  4. outlawness
  5. outlawries
  6. outlawry
  7. outlaws
  8. outlawyer
  9. outlawyered
  10. outlawyering
  11. outlawyers

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: outlawry (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.

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