extralegal

adj

"extralegal" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Occurring outside the law; not governed by law; lawless.

Corpus desk

Index EN-extralegal · extralegal · English

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

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “extralegal” in English

extralegalsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

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

Rare enough to double-check

extralegal is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Occurring outside the law; not governed by law; lawless.".

Zero misspellings are on record for extralegal in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From extra- + legal. The correct English form is extralegal, spelled E-X-T-R-A-L-E-G-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Occurring outside the law; not governed by law; lawless.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Extra-legal raids in Moscow and Leningrad in which 130 males were arrested in late summer 1933 were the harbinger of the recriminalization of male homosexuality later that year.

Etymology

From extra- + legal.

Antonyms

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.
What does "extralegal" mean?
As an adjective, "extralegal" means: Occurring outside the law; not governed by law; lawless.
What is the origin of the word "extralegal"?
From extra- + legal. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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