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Word for "using other's thing without their permission"

English Language & Usage Asked on July 1, 2021

Could you give me a word which means using things of other people without their permission?

For example, in the sentence:

You shouldn’t touch my phone without my permission

I want to find an adverb to replace without my permission.
Can I say: you shouldn’t touch my phone freely?

2 Answers

It’s challenging to find a good adverb here, since we need to start with an adjective that means permitted, negate it, and then turn it into an adverb. The concept of permission typically requires that the permitter be stronger than the permittee, even if this is simply by appealing to social norms, e.g. it would be impolite to use someone’s phone without asking them for permission. So the adjective has to convey something about the social framework in which permission is granted, since the listener is expected (through the use of should) to respect its rules. That’s asking a single word to do a lot.

That said, there are many possible adverbs, although IMHO they don’t really improve on the OP’s original construction, such as:

  • unpermittedly, or just unpermitted,
  • illegally,
  • uninvited,
  • discourteously,
  • selfishly.

Finally, is an adverb even needed? If the social framework for permission is the relationship between the speaker and the listener, what’s wrong with Don’t touch my phone.

Correct answer by Global Charm on July 1, 2021

I don't think it's used often (at least not when talking about phones), but you might use nonconsensually.

Nonconsensual means, according to Merriram Webster dictionary:

not agreed to by one or more of the people involved

Answered by JJJ on July 1, 2021

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