illegality

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the state or quality of being contrary to law

   The court ruled on the illegality of the search before considering the evidence.

2. 2
   noun

   an illegal act or feature of an act, agreement, or situation

   A minor procedural illegality did not invalidate the entire election.

3. 3
   noun

   the legal doctrine that an unlawful agreement may be invalid or unenforceable

   The company relied on illegality as a defence to enforcement of the contract.

Borrowed from French illégalité and analyzable in English as illegal plus -ity. The prefix il- is the assimilated form of Latin in-, 'not,' before l.

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