Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In a legal manner; lawfully; according to law; in a manner permitted by law.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adverb In a legal manner.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adverb As permitted by law; not contrary to law.
  • adverb From a legal perspective.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adverb by law; conforming to the law
  • adverb in a legal manner

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

legal +‎ -ly

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Examples

  • In regard to this, Mr. Madison says, "The term '_legally'_ was struck out, and the words' under the laws thereof, 'inserted after the word State, in compliance with the wish of some who thought the term' legally 'equivocal and favoring the idea that slavery was legal in a moral point of view."

    Abraham Lincoln George Haven Putnam 1887

  • One of the biggest stumbling blocks in the proposed compromise was just two words: the term "legally binding."

    NEWS.com.au | Top Stories 2011

  • That nearly decade-long path forward -- as well as the linguistic jujitsu that led to dropping the term "legally binding" from the Durban agreement -- left some critics decrying the talks as producing too little and increasingly, too late.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com The Huffington Post News Editors 2011

  • She had her name legally changed to all lowercase letters.

    hannah draper: Encouraging women's advancement in Turkey 2011

  • "I'm in Turkey at a time when there's an opening up of society and a willingness to discuss things that weren't previously discussed," said draper, who had her name legally changed to all lowercase letters.

    Helping advance the role of women in Turkey 2011

  • This has a major impact on the proposed park, since the designation legally requires that the spectacular view of Manhattan from the promenade be protected by a so-called view plane, into which no new building may protrude.

    Makeshift Metropolis Witold Rybczynski 2010

  • This has a major impact on the proposed park, since the designation legally requires that the spectacular view of Manhattan from the promenade be protected by a so-called view plane, into which no new building may protrude.

    Makeshift Metropolis Witold Rybczynski 2010

  • This has a major impact on the proposed park, since the designation legally requires that the spectacular view of Manhattan from the promenade be protected by a so-called view plane, into which no new building may protrude.

    Makeshift Metropolis Witold Rybczynski 2010

  • I have received hate mail from other Italians who think I changed my name legally because I was ashamed of what I am.

    How to Sell Anything to Anybody Joe Girard Stanley H. Brown 2005

  • “Your mother and I can get married and have your name legally changed to mine.”

    The Second Time Janet Dailey 2003

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