unconstitutional
adj.not allowed by the set of rules that a country or organization follows. If a law or action is unconstitutional, it is illegal because it goes against the constitution.
adj.not in accordance with the political constitution of a state or the governing principles of an organization. Often follows a linking verb or precedes a noun referring to legislation or executive actions.
“The court ruled that the new law was unconstitutional.”
“Civil rights lawyers argued that the police search was unconstitutional because it violated the right to privacy.”
“The supreme court has the power to strike down any executive order it deems unconstitutional, ensuring that the government remains within its legal boundaries.”
Typically used as a predicative adjective after 'be' or 'deem', or as an attributive adjective before nouns like 'law', 'act', or 'measure'.
“Then, also in 2023, the US supreme court ruled that race-conscious admissions policies in higher education were unconstitutional , opening the floodgates for legal challenges against DEI policies in other places, including the workplace.”
“Alabama had largely switched to a new experimental method, nitrogen gas, but that was halted by a federal judge in June on grounds that it was unconstitutional.”
From un- + constitutional.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.