The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word ANARCHY
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
A
N
A
R
C
H
Y
More clues leading to the result ANARCHY
- Lots without leader would embrace roguish state of disorder
- In the absence of authority, some seizing chief
- Some disturbed by roguish lawlessness
- See 4
- Complete disorder created by some gripping spanner
- Some boxing leading to riot
- Canary flapping round her head causes chaos
- Chief required in some lawless state
- Chaos having refurbished ranch within a year
- Cunning involved in some chaos
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "lawlessness" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case lawlessness = anarchy.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does ANARCHY mean?
ANARCHY noun- The state of a society being without authorities or an authoritative governing body.
- Anarchism; the political theory that a community is best organized by the voluntary cooperation of individuals, rather than by a government, which is regarded as being coercive by nature.
- A chaotic and confusing absence of any form of political authority or government.
- Confusion in general; disorder.