# lawful

/ˈɫɔfəɫ/ (US) · /lˈɔːfəl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/lawful
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. legal or allowed

adjective · CEFR B2 · Formal

allowed by the law or following the official rules of a country.

For teachers: conforming to, permitted by, or recognised by the law.

- The police confirmed that the protest was a lawful assembly.
- The court ruled that the seizure of the documents was a lawful exercise of police power under the current emergency legislation.

Usage: Often used in formal or legal documents rather than everyday conversation.

### 2. moral alignment

adjective · CEFR C1 · Informal · Slang

describing a character who follows a strict code of rules or laws.

For teachers: denoting a character alignment that emphasises honour, logic, and obedience to authority or a personal code.

- He always plays a lawful character who never breaks his promises.
- In many role-playing games, a lawful character is expected to uphold the social order even when it conflicts with their personal desires.

Teaching tip: This sense is specific to gaming culture (like Dungeons & Dragons) and is very common in internet memes about 'alignment charts'.

### 3. a principled character

noun · CEFR C2 · Informal · Slang

a person or character who follows the laws and rules.

For teachers: a character or individual possessing a lawful alignment within a fictional or gaming framework.

- The party needed a lawful to balance out the more unpredictable members.
- As a lawful, she found it difficult to justify the rogue's constant thievery to the rest of the group.

## Examples

- The police confirmed that his actions were entirely lawful.
- The company must ensure that all data collection remains lawful under the new privacy regulations.
- The court ruled that while the protest was disruptive, it remained a lawful exercise of the right to free assembly under the constitution.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.