User Contributed Dictionary
- Describing one who follows the letter of the law.
- He's very legalistic, so let's hope the law is just and merciful as well as strict.
- Describing one who tends to resort to the law, as one who
sues frequently.
- His legalistic tendancies irritated his neighbors, especially since they had to defend themselves against his frivolous suits.
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
cavilling, contentious, conventionalized,
disputatious,
extrinsic, fine, forensic, formal, formalist, formalistic, formulary, hair-splitting,
impersonal, jurisprudent, jurisprudential,
literal, litigious, narrow-minded,
nice, niggling, nit-picking, nominal, outward, pedantic, pettifogging, quibbling, strict, stylized, subtle, superficial, surface