How to Use unlawful in a Sentence

unlawful

adjective
  • The sale of alcohol to minors is unlawful.
  • But a cease-fire alone is not enough to end deeply unlawful conduct.
    — Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
  • He had been arrested for drug charges and unlawful use of a weapon.
    — Paul Best, Fox News, 15 June 2022
  • He was charged with armed violence and unlawful use of a weapon.
    — Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 20 May 2026
  • What happens if a landlord charges an unlawful late fee?
    — Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 June 2026
  • If the tenant sues for an unlawful lockout, a judge can order that they be let back in.
    — Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 May 2025
  • This is unlawful in so many different ways.
    — ABC News, 24 May 2026
  • Or, the court could find that the tariffs are entirely unlawful, and end them.
    — Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR, 9 Sep. 2025
  • But those rules were suspended over the weekend due to a court ruling them to be unlawful.
    — Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 27 June 2022
  • But the agency has specified no unlawful conduct and charged no one with a crime.
    — Laura Blasey, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2022
  • She was also charged with two counts of armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.
    — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 16 Apr. 2026
  • Three counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm, a Class 6 Felony.
    — Perry Vandell, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
  • He is also charged with three counts of armed criminal action and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.
    — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 3 Mar. 2026
  • The number is down slightly so far this year at 117 unlawful killings.
    — Sarah Ravani, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Dec. 2022
  • Greer was charged with a count of unlawful use of a weapon and a count of second-degree trafficking of drugs.
    — Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Brogdon has been charged with second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon.
    — oregonlive, 13 Oct. 2021
  • Offline life is full of things that are irritating but not unlawful.
    — Gregory M. Dickinson, The Conversation, 18 May 2026
  • Valdez and Boyd were also charged with unlawful possession of a weapon.
    — Thania Garcia, Variety, 23 June 2022
  • That is looting, plain and simple, and clearly unlawful.
    — Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 3 Jan. 2026
  • Both women also are charged with unlawful use of a firearm during a crime of violence.
    — Carol Robinson | [email protected], al, 11 Sep. 2023
  • Patel has said the Mar-a-Lago search was unlawful.
    — Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 22 Aug. 2025
  • To these vital ends, a few hours in police custody under unlawful arrest is a very small price to pay.
    — Walden Green, Pitchfork, 13 Apr. 2026
  • In 90 percent of the cases that went before the supreme court, the court ruled that the changes were unlawful.
    — Richard Schiffman, Scientific American, 9 Nov. 2022
  • They are also charged with one count each of unlawful imprisonment and removal of a dead body.
    — Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 1 May 2026
  • Hawkins was charged with two counts of unlawful carry, one count of shooting with intent to kill, and two counts of pointing a firearm.
    — Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 21 Apr. 2026
  • Kline, off duty at the time of the incident, was charged with stalking, unlawful use of a weapon and assault.
    — Bill Glauber, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 19 Nov. 2021
  • The arrest warrant for Brown was unlawful because it was not signed by a judge, the lawsuit claims.
    — Chris Boyette, CNN, 13 Nov. 2021
  • The ruling meant the tariffs shouldn’t have been imposed and thus were unlawful from the beginning.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 13 May 2026
  • The claim that the FBI search was unlawful is also wrong, experts say.
    — Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY, 19 Aug. 2022
  • This is part of a larger trend to hold businesses liable for the unlawful use of legal products.
    — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 20 Jan. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unlawful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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