illegality

/ˌɪliˈɡælɪti/

Other forms: illegalities

Illegality is the state of being against the rules or the law. Sometimes you have to break the law to effect change. The students knew the illegality of their actions, and that they might be arrested, but they figured it was worth it to change a bad law.

The root word of illegality is legal, which is from the Latin word legalis, which means related to or pertaining to the law. Il- means not, so illegal means "not legal," and -ity is a suffix used to make an adjective a noun meaning the "state of or condition of." So literally, illegality is the condition of being not legal. Despite the illegality, people often break the law when it comes to speed limits.

Definitions of illegality

1. noun

   unlawfulness by virtue of violating some legal statute
   antonyms:

   legality

   lawfulness by virtue of conformity to a legal statute

   types:

   lawlessness, outlawry

   illegality as a consequence of unlawful acts; defiance of the law

   infection

   (international law) illegality that taints or contaminates a ship or cargo rendering it liable to seizure

   type of:

   unlawfulness

   the quality of failing to conform to law