English Reference
Noun

lawlessness

n.
C1 Advanced US /ˈɫɔɫəsnəs/ UK /lˈɔːləsnəs/ law·less·ness

n.a state where there is no law or order. It means people do not follow rules and there is no police to stop them.

n.the absence of legal order or the lack of enforcement of laws. Often describes a state of anarchy or a breakdown in social discipline.


SIMPLE

The city suffered from lawlessness after the government collapsed.

CONTEXTUAL

The sudden lawlessness in the border region made it dangerous for any traveler to pass through without a guide.

COMPLEX

Historians often debate whether the lawlessness of the frontier was a necessary catalyst for innovation or a chaotic period that hindered long-term economic stability.

But as a study I was recently involved in shows, this sense of increasing lawlessness is based on very faulty perceptions of trends in actual crime rates.

Phys.org· 8 Sept 2026

From lawless + -ness.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated