lawless
/ˈlɔːləs/adjective
lawless is spelled L-A-W-L-E-S-S: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,101st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, lawless means “Not governed by any law” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in lawless?
| Letters | 7: L-A-W-L-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 20,101st 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 lawless?
Lawless appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,101st 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 lawless?
- /ˈlɔːləs/
Lawless has 2 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). Recordings: En-us-lawless.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of lawless
- more lawless comparative
- most lawless superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lawless mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not governed by any law.
- 2
Prohibited by law; unlawful, illegal.
- 3
Not restrained by the law or by discipline; disorderly, unruly.
On why leaving lawless places and leaving pseudovirtuous groups is loving such places and groups
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lawless in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | rechtsfrei , gesetzwidrig , gesetzlos |
| Portuguese | sem lei , desregrado |
| Spanish | ilegal |
| French | sans foi ni loi, anarchique |
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 lawless come from?
From Middle English laweles; equivalent to law + -less. Cognate with Danish lovløs (“lawless”), Swedish laglös (“lawless”), Norwegian lovløs (“lawless”), Icelandic löglaus (“lawless”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).