[b]Illegal[/b][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4] and [/size][/font][/color][b]unlawful[/b][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4] have slightly different meanings, although they are often used interchangeably. Something that is [/size][/font][/color][b]illegal[/b][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4] is against the law, whereas an [/size][/font][/color][b]unlawful[/b][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4] act merely contravenes the rules that apply in a particular context. Thus handball in soccer is [/size][/font][/color][b]unlawful[/b][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4], but it is not [/size][/font][/color][b]illegal[/b][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]. A third word with a similar meaning is [/size][/font][/color][b]illicit[/b][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]: this tends to encompass things that are forbidden or disapproved of by custom or society, as in [/size][/font][/color][i]an illicit love affair[/i][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4].[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4](Lifted from Oxford Dictionaries, Google search......)[/size][/font][/color]