OUTLAWED Synonyms: 138 Similar and Opposite Words

outlawed 1 of 2

adjective

as in prohibited

that may not be permitted a refugee seeking asylum because in his home country he risks persecution as a member of an outlawed religious group

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

outlawed

2 of 2

verb

past tense of outlaw

as in banned

to make or declare contrary to the law a push to outlaw smoking in all public buildings

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in forbade

to order not to do or use or to be done or used fed up with the constant interruptions, the physician has outlawed all cell phone use from his office

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of outlawed

Adjective

It’s been nearly a decade since California voters legalized recreational cannabis, but production and sales remain outlawed in most of the state — and the black market dominates. — Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026 King Henry’s laws adamantly forbade chattel slavery, outlawed colonialism, and created an economically robust, financially solvent Black state, one not dependent on the transatlantic slave trade. — Marlene L. Daut september 22, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025 By season 1's conclusion, Fisk has taken over the city's government as mayor, locked away any potential threats to his power in a secret prison, installed his own shadow force of corrupt cops to exact his will, outlawed vigilanteism, and declared martial law. — Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Sep. 2025 In a letter from his prison cell of 26 years, Abdullah Öcalan, founder of a four-decade-old armed insurgency for the rights of the large Kurdish minority in Turkey, called on his outlawed group to disarm and dissolve. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 28 Feb. 2025

Verb

Using the history of gay male desire in different time periods — dangerous, clandestine, outlawed and at long last fitfully accepted — the film examines legacy and what gets handed down across time. — Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026 None of the other states that have passed constitutional amendments protecting the ability to hunt and fish have had specific hunting methods outlawed by the voters, as Colorado has. — Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026 Public executions were gradually outlawed by some states beginning in the 19th century and has long become taboo across much of the developed world. — ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026 In somewhat bare-bones, cozy settings, Red Lobster became a middle-class family destination, and was welcoming to Black customers at a time when segregation, while outlawed, was still common in much of the American South. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026 Colorado voters approved statewide prohibition four years before the 18th Amendment took effect nationally in 1920 and outlawed the consumption of alcohol. — Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 1 Oct. 2026 Popular committees stored food for curfews, set up clinics, and planted backyard gardens (until Israel outlawed them in 1988). — Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026 When music is outlawed in Afghanistan, the orchestra conductor Nazar (Babak Karimi) and his tuba-playing son Jalil (Ivar Wafaei) are forced to leave everything behind. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026 Independent media, already imperiled due to the Kremlin’s crackdown on dissent, was all but outlawed. — Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for outlawed

Adjective

Their alternating stories portray a Europe that exploits gifted children, while rigid class and gender expectations leave both protagonists struggling to pursue forbidden ambitions.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
As a forbidden attraction grows between the two men, tragedy unleashes supernatural forces upon their deeply religious community.

— Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of forbidden

Verb

Claims that cotton in a particular product came from a specific farm or grower are also prohibited.

— Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026
The suspect who allegedly had the weapon was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition, police said, adding that they were booked on multiple charges.

— Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of prohibited

Verb

Reservoirs have already fallen perilously low -- with one lake so dry this year that a small town nearby let its Little League field go dry and temporarily forbade residents from washing cars or watering lawns.

— Hannah Knowles The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
For decades, the United States favored an international order that forbade wars of conquest, upheld freedom of the seas, maintained a generally open global economy, and allowed populations to exercise democratic rights, even if autocracies remained.

— Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of forbade

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outlawed

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“Outlawed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/outlawed. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of outlawed

adjective

verb

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