colour of law

1. 1.

   a mere semblance of legal right; something done with the apparent authority of law but actually in contravention of law

   “the plaintiff claimed that under color of law the officer had deprived him of his civil rights”

   Synonymscolor of law

   Broadersemblance

   law

Questions about colour of law

What does colour of law mean?

colour of law means "a mere semblance of legal right; something done with the apparent authority of law but actually in contravention of law".

What is another word for colour of law?

Close synonyms include color of law. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.