Words / B2

OWTL-or/ˈaʊtlɔː/

To outlaw is to make something illegal; as a noun, a person living outside the law: outlaw a practice; an outlaw in the ballad. Ban is everyday; prohibit is formal. The act outlawed child labour in the mills. Mix-up: outline is a summary (already in the dictionary); law. Do not write outlaw for a school detention rule.

Meaning

To make something illegal; as a noun, a person living outside the law.

Examples

• “The act outlawed child labour in the mills, the history paper dates.”
• “The ballad’s outlaw is not a modern CEO, which is the folk-hero sense.”

Good to know

outlaw + practice; an outlaw. Everyday: ban. Trap: outline. History, law, and literature. Make illegal, or a person outside the law.

Near in meaning

ban

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