outlaw

Meaning

Noun

1. A fugitive from the law.
2. A criminal who is excluded from normal legal rights; one who can be killed at will without legal penalty.
3. A person who operates outside established norms.
4. A wild horse.
5. An in-law: a relative by marriage.
6. One who would be an in-law except that the marriage-like relationship is unofficial.
7. (slang) A prostitute who works alone, without a pimp.

Verb

1. To declare illegal.
2. To place a ban upon.
3. To remove from legal jurisdiction or enforcement.
4. To deprive of legal force.

Synonyms

bandit

proscribe

criminal

criminalize

illegalize

ban

forbid

prohibit

brigand

outcast

criminalise

unlawful

felon

robber

crook

illicit

illegalise

interdict

malefactor

gangster

taboo

thief

outlawed

illegitimate

lawless

housebreaker

illegal

mugger

murderer

negate

nix

off-limits

ostracise

out

out-of-bounds

pickpocket

prohibited

proscribed

rapparee

rebel

recant

recidivist

refuse

renegade

restricted

rioter

robbers

ruffian

shoplifter

suppress

verboten

villain

🦹‍♂️

delegitimize

criminal fellow

desperados

pass a ban on

declare a ban on

illegalise

abjure

criminalise

abnegate

absconder

assassin

banish

banned

bar

blacklist

burglar

contradict

convict

debar

delinquent

deny

desperado

disallow

disavow

disclaim

disown

embargo

exile

forbidden

habitual criminal

highwayman

holdup man

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈaʊt.lɔː/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: outlawe

Inherited from Old English: ūtlaga

Cognate with Icelandic: útlagi

In summary

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”).