lawfully
/ˈlɔːfəli/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈlɔːfəli/ (ame, ipa) · /-f(ə)lē -li/ (ame, mw)
lawfully — adverb
1. without breaking the law, and only in ways that legal rules permit.
without breaking the law, and only in ways that legal rules permit.
The company dismissed workers lawfully after giving the required notice.
verb + lawfully after following legal procedure
Rania lawfully carried the medicine across the border with a permit.
verb + lawfully with permit-based action
The couple were lawfully married in Seoul before moving to Vancouver.
Police entered the flat lawfully because the judge had signed a warrant.
Pedro lawfully sold the car after signing the transfer form.
- legally
the more common everyday equivalent for following the law
- rightfully
stresses having a fair or legal claim, not simply obeying rules
- validly
narrower and more formal, often about contracts, votes, or legal status
- illegally
the direct everyday opposite
- unlawfully
a more formal opposite often seen in legal writing
文法句型
verb + lawfully
be lawfully + past participle
用法筆記
Most often used with actions that can be checked against official rules, such as entering, renting, marrying, owning, or dismissing someone. It usually follows the main verb or appears inside a passive verb phrase.