laws unto themselves
Beyond external authority
People who are laws unto themselves follow their own rules rather than conforming to external standards or authorities.
The phrase suggests independence that may be admirable or troublesome depending on context: Artists are often laws unto themselves.
It can imply arrogance or unpredictability: The police in that district were laws unto themselves.
- independenceFreedom from external control
- iconoclasmAttacking revered traditions
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- renegadeDeserter of a cause
- going rogueActing independently, against authority
loose cannon · moral relativism · anarchism · maverick · wild card · sovereignty · above the law · self-determination · marching to their own drum · free spirit · lone wolf · noncompliance · rebellion · free agency · counterculture · contrarianism · insubordination · self-reliance
laws unto themselvesconformists
Those obeying social norms
obedient · compliant · by-the-book · dutiful · law-abiding
laws unto themselvespredictable
Able to be foreseen
reliable · dependable · conventional · orthodox · by-the-numbers
laws unto themselvesanswerable
Liable to account
accountable · subordinate · beholden · checked and balanced · transparent
lawful, lawfully, lawfulness, unlawful, unlawfully, lawless, lawlessness, lawyer, lawyers