legitimate
Americanadjective
-
according to law; lawful.
the property's legitimate owner.
- Antonyms:
- illegitimate
-
in accordance with established rules, principles, or standards.
- Synonyms:
- sanctioned
-
born in wedlock or of legally married parents.
legitimate children.
-
in accordance with the laws of reasoning; logically inferable; logical.
a legitimate conclusion.
- Synonyms:
- valid
-
resting on or ruling by the principle of hereditary right.
a legitimate sovereign.
-
not spurious or unjustified; genuine.
It was a legitimate complaint.
-
of the normal or regular type or kind.
-
Theater. of or relating to professionally produced stage plays, as distinguished from burlesque, vaudeville, television, motion pictures, etc..
an actor in the legitimate theater.
verb (used with object)
-
to make lawful or legal; pronounce or state as lawful.
Parliament legitimated his accession to the throne.
- Synonyms:
- legalize
-
to establish as lawfully born.
His bastard children were afterward legitimated by law.
-
to show or declare to be legitimate or proper.
He was under obligation to legitimate his commission.
-
to justify; sanction or authorize.
His behavior was legitimated by custom.
noun
-
the legitimate, the legitimate theater or drama.
-
a person who is established as being legitimate.
adjective
-
born in lawful wedlock; enjoying full filial rights
-
conforming to established standards of usage, behaviour, etc
-
based on correct or acceptable principles of reasoning
-
reasonable, sensible, or valid
a legitimate question
-
authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law
-
of, relating to, or ruling by hereditary right
a legitimate monarch
-
of or relating to a body of famous long-established plays as distinct from films, television, vaudeville, etc
the legitimate theatre
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
legitimatelyadverb
-
quasi-legitimatelyadverb
-
nonlegitimateadjective
-
legitimatenessnoun
-
delegitimationnoun
-
legitimacynoun
-
legitimationnoun
-
delegitimateverb (used with object)
-
quasi-legitimateadjective
-
postlegitimationnoun
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has legitimatedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have legitimatedperfect
-
am legitimatingprogressive 1st person singular
-
have been legitimatingperfect progressive
-
are legitimatingprogressive
-
legitimatingparticiple
-
has been legitimatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
legitimatessingular 3rd person
-
is legitimatingprogressive 3rd person singular
Past
-
had legitimatedperfect
-
legitimatedparticiple
-
legitimatedsimple
-
were legitimatingprogressive plural
-
was legitimatingprogressive singular
-
had been legitimatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of legitimate
First recorded in 1485–95, legitimate is from the Medieval Latin word lēgitimātus (past participle of lēgitimāre to make lawful). See legitim, -ate 1
Explanation
Something legitimate is the real deal — according to the law. Legitimate has other variations of meaning. To legitimate something is to make it legal, either by passing a law or publicly recognizing it as in accordance with the law. A government can be legitimized by being invited to world talks, or a movie by winning a prestigious award.
Vocabulary lists containing legitimate
The Real Deal: Synonyms for "True"
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"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "J," "K," and "L"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Legitimate bear arguments start by pointing out that all of those are long-term projections and that Starship isn’t operational yet.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
Legitimate risks do exist, specifically in primary education.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
Legitimate organizations, the FTC says, do not contact you and say you have to act now.
From MarketWatch • May 22, 2026
Legitimate Cycladics were made in the Cyclades, a group of islands in Greece, during the Bronze Age about 3,000 years ago.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
Legitimate and profitable business was neglected; lost sight of, and all my faculties were engrossed in the one great object of obtaining money to appease the present and the pressing importunity.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Volume 54, No. 335, September 1843 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
