unlawful act
Breach of law
An unlawful act is any action that violates the law—criminal conduct, regulatory breaches, or civil wrongs.
The phrase appears frequently in legal contexts to describe behavior that triggers liability or prosecution: The court found the unlawful act caused the victim's death.
Distinguished from merely immoral or unethical conduct, an unlawful act specifically contravenes established legal rules.
- criminal actIllegal action, prosecutable
- arsonCriminal deliberate burning
- fraudIntentional criminal trickery
- assaultViolent offensive act
- breaking and enteringIllegally forcing entry somewhere
hit and run · plagiarism · theft · embezzlement · breach of contract · crime · bribery · offense · defamation · wrongful death · gross negligence · tax evasion · complicity · delict · malfeasance · tort · wrongful termination · copyright infringement
- crimesarson, burglary, robbery, kidnapping, vandalism
- tort lawtort, tort law, negligence, duty of care, breach of duty
- tortstort, negligence, tortfeasor, torts, tort law
unlawful actlegal action
Formal court proceeding
compliance · within the law · by the book · letter of the law · due process
unlawful actgood deed
Benevolent act
ethical conduct · act of kindness · heroic act · noble act · noble deed