statutory

statutory — adjective

1. describes something that is established, required, or regulated by a formal law

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes something that is established, required, or regulated by a formal law passed by a government or legislative body

Example

The company must file a statutory report with the government every year.

collocation: statutory report

Under the new law, employees have a statutory right to paid holiday leave.

collocation: statutory right + to [benefit]

Common collocations
  • statutory requirement
  • statutory right
  • statutory body
  • statutory holiday
  • statutory audit
  • statutory obligation
  • statutory declaration
  • statutory provision
Synonyms
  • legal

    broader term covering anything related to or permitted by the law, not necessarily originating from a written statute

  • lawful

    focuses on being in accordance with the law; used more in ethical or moral contexts

  • legislative

    relates to the process or body that makes laws, rather than the resulting rules

  • mandatory

    means 'required' but does not specify a legal origin — a company policy can be mandatory without being statutory

Antonyms
  • voluntary

    done by choice rather than because the law demands it

  • discretionary

    left to individual judgement rather than fixed by law

Grammar Patterns

statutory + noun

Usage Note

Statutory is almost always used before a noun (attributive position) and belongs to a formal or legal register. It appears frequently in official, business, and government contexts. Unlike general adjectives such as legal, statutory emphasises that something originates specifically from a written law (statute) passed by a legislature.

Common Mistakes

It is statutory to wear a seatbelt.
Wearing a seatbelt is a statutory requirement in most countries.
Statutory is rarely used in an 'it is + adjective + to-infinitive' pattern; it is more naturally placed before a noun.
The company follows all statutory laws.
The company follows all statutory regulations.
'Statutory laws' is redundant because a statute is a type of law. Pair statutory with a specific noun such as requirement, obligation, or regulation.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Statutory, legal, lawful, legislative, and mandatory all relate to rules or laws, but they differ in scope and nuance. Statutory refers specifically to something created or required by a written law (statute) passed by a legislative body — for example, a statutory right is one written into a law, not just generally accepted. Legal is the broadest term, covering anything connected with the law or permitted by it; something legal may not be statutory (e.g. a verbal agreement can be legal without being set out in a statute). Lawful focuses on conformity to the law, often carrying a moral tone ('lawful behaviour'). Legislative describes the process or institution that makes laws, not the resulting rules themselves. Mandatory means 'required' but does not specify a legal origin — wearing a hard hat may be mandatory under company policy without being a statutory requirement.

legal ↗lawful ↗legislative ↗mandatory ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • by statutory [noun]
  • under statutory [noun]

Etymology

LatinAnglo-FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Statutory comes from the Latin word statutum, meaning 'a decree' or 'a law that has been set down'. This word passed through Anglo-French as statut before entering Middle English as statute. The adjective form statutory appeared in English in the 1700s, used to describe something that relates to or is required by a law passed by a formal legislative body.