outlaw
/ˈaʊt.lɔ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.51 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A criminal who is excluded from normal legal rights; one who can be killed at will without legal penalty.
noun
A person who operates outside established norms.
Example Sentences
- "“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. […]""
- "The main character in the play was a bit of an outlaw who refused to shake hands or say thank you."
- "Without a pimp, she was an "outlaw," likely to be harassed, or threatened with assault or robbery on the street."
- "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."
- "The legal change in England and Wales will outlaw selling, manufacturing, renting or importing zombie knives."
- "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 opting to turn them in."
Etymology
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”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: outlawe, ūtlaga, útlagi
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈaʊt.lɔ/
- British English: /ˈaʊt.lɔː/