extralegal

[ɛkstʁaleˈɡaːl]

/[ɛkstʁaleˈɡaːl]/ adj

The verdict

“extralegal” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - ohne Beachtung von Gesetzen geschehend, nicht durch Gesetze geregelt, außerhalb des Gesetzes stehend

Corpus desk

Index DE-extralegal · extralegal · German

extralegal · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "E" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for extralegal
PropertyValue
Headwordextralegal
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ɛkstʁaleˈɡaːl]
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „extralegal“ im Deutschen

extralegalliegt außerhalb der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Wörter, im Langschwanz technischer, archaischer oder seltener Formen, genau dort, wo Schreibzweifeln zuschlagen.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

extralegal is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ɛkstʁaleˈɡaːl]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "ohne Beachtung von Gesetzen geschehend, nicht durch Gesetze geregelt, außerhalb des Gesetzes stehend".

No generated misspelling entries exist for extralegal in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is extralegal, spelled E-X-T-R-A-L-E-G-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    ohne Beachtung von Gesetzen geschehend, nicht durch Gesetze geregelt, außerhalb des Gesetzes stehend

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how extralegal appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. „Niemandem zur Rechenschaft verpflichtet, standen sie über dem Recht und nahmen für sich in Anspruch, nach Gutdünken extralegal handeln zu können, wenn nicht zu müssen.“
  2. „Er ist ein ehemaliger General, der während seiner aktiven Zeit eine geheimdienstliche Einheit der Gendarmerie gegründet haben soll, die darauf spezialisiert war, im Krieg gegen die PKK sogenannte extralegale Hinrichtungen durchzuführen.“

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "extralegal"?
"extralegal" is spelled E-X-T-R-A-L-E-G-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛkstʁaleˈɡaːl].
What does "extralegal" mean?
As an adjective, "extralegal" means: ohne Beachtung von Gesetzen geschehend, nicht durch Gesetze geregelt, außerhalb des Gesetzes stehend
How do you pronounce "extralegal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "extralegal" is [ɛkstʁaleˈɡaːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "extralegal" come from?
"extralegal" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list