illegitimacy
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of illegitimacy
First recorded in 1670–80; illegitim(ate) + -acy
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.
The University of Washington appears to have enshrined an orthodoxy about the illegitimacy of its own existence.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025
He also insisted that Iran's doctrine was "rooted in our belief in the prohibition and illegitimacy of nuclear weapons".
From BBC • Jun. 19, 2025
"This is a losing proposition all around. The Judiciary will lose much from the constant intimations of its illegitimacy," he wrote.
From Salon • Apr. 18, 2025
As I was reading the book, I remembered the illegitimacy I felt as a child when I realized my parents were unwed.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2023
“A degradation to illegitimacy and ignorance, to be married to a respectable, intelligent gentleman-farmer!”
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
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.
