illegality
noun
illegality is spelled I-L-L-E-G-A-L-I-T-Y: 10 letters and 5 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, illegality means “the state of being illegal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of illegality is illegalities.
How many letters and syllables are in illegality?
| Letters | 10: I-L-L-E-G-A-L-I-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,663rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is illegality?
Illegality appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce illegality?
Illegality has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of illegality
- illegalities plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does illegality mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
the state of being illegal
The criminal was aware of the illegality of his act.
- 2
a defense to the validity of a contract because it was in violation of the law
When sued for refusing to pay for services provided by a prostitute, the customer raised the defense of illegality.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Illegality in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense (law) the state of being illegal:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | illégalité |
| German | Illegalität |
| Portuguese | ilegalidade |
| Spanish | ilegalidad |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does illegality come from?
From French illégalité, equivalent to il- + legality or illegal + -ity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).