lawlessness

/ˈlɔːləsnəs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈlɔːləsnəs/ (ame, ipa)

lawlessness — noun

1. a situation where people break the rules of a country or area, often because the

1.名詞C1
釋義

a situation where people break the rules of a country or area, often because the police and government cannot stop them — for example, robbery, fighting, or looting happening openly without anyone being punished.

例句

After the storm cut off power, lawlessness spread through several city neighborhoods.

uncountable noun: lawlessness spread

Reporters described scenes of lawlessness as armed groups looted shops in Port Harcourt.

collocation: scenes of lawlessness

同義詞
  • anarchy

    stronger; suggests total breakdown of any authority, often political

  • disorder

    broader; can mean any chaos, not only crime

  • chaos

    very informal in this sense; emphasizes confusion more than illegal acts

反義詞
  • order

    the general state of rules being respected and obeyed

  • law and order

    fixed phrase; the active enforcement of rules by police and courts

文法句型

uncountable noun

用法筆記

Uncountable; never takes a plural or the article 'a'. Subject is usually a place or period of time (a city, a region, the post-war years), and the verb is often 'spread', 'grow', or 'continue'.

常見錯誤

❌There were many lawlessnesses in the area.
✅There was a lot of lawlessness in the area.
💡'lawlessness' is uncountable; use 'a lot of' or 'widespread', not a plural.
❌He committed a lawlessness.
✅He committed a crime.
💡'lawlessness' describes the overall situation, not a single act.