delegitimize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of delegitimize
Explanation
When we delegitimize something, we remove or reduce its legal status or validity. To promote safe driving, we have delegitimized speeding and riding without a fastened seatbelt. If officials decide to delegitimize a dangerous chemical, they may ban it from use in consumer products to keep the public safe. Delegitimize can also refer to trying to undermine the prestige or authority of someone or something. For instance, accusations of wrongdoing against someone can delegitimize that person's reputation and work, even if the allegations are proven to be untrue later on.
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.
See Examples For:
“People are always trying to delegitimize my own opinions and my platform,” said Lea, who has more than 180,000 followers on Instagram.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
In some ways, yes, but only if we discount and delegitimize the lived experience and impact of psychological suffering.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2025
When a stitch isn’t working, or I mess up the seam, I’ll delegitimize myself a little bit and think I’m a fraud because I’m having people pay me for this.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2025
Run by the husband-and-wife team of Tom Clare and Libby Locke, the firm had helped popularize efforts by wealthy and powerful clients to attack news organizations and delegitimize or kill unfavorable articles.
From New York Times ● Apr. 10, 2024
In 1988philosopher Guy Debord warned about the term disinformation in Comments on the Society of the Spectacle, writing that the powerful use it as an umbrella term to delegitimize opposition and criticism.
From Slate ● May 23, 2022
He added: “I’ve been delegitimized by heredity. In the 1970s, people were sympathetic to me being the son of a novelist. They’re not at all sympathetic now, because it looks like cronyism.”
From New York Times ● May 20, 2023
I have no interest in seeing Israel delegitimized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2021
Jen became very upset with me and told me that my decision to be neutral delegitimized her feelings.
From Slate ● Mar. 13, 2019
Some people emphasize economic issues: The simultaneous concentration of wealth at the top and the stagnation in the middle has delegitimized the system.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2018
The fatwa was never officially lifted — only Khomeini could have done that, and he died just months after issuing it — but delegitimized by the Iranian government in 1998.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2012
The objective of PSI 2.0 should be to sweep oil-tanker ghost fleets from the seas entirely, delegitimizing them across the board, by interdictions, seizures and financial and commercial means.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
Polidoro’s statement also said, “Censoring or delegitimizing questions considered ‘uncomfortable’ does not fall within the practice of democracy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2025
“Journalists aren’t really journalists. Doctors aren’t really doctors. Rescue workers aren’t really rescue workers. It’s all about delegitimizing Palestinian voices,” she said.
From Slate ● May 30, 2025
Tom Southerden of Amnesty International said Thursday that talk of mob rule “wildly exaggerates the issue and risks delegitimizing the rights of peaceful protest.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 29, 2024
Zoldbrod recommends loved ones avoid using lines like “you’ll have another one” to comfort those who have lost a pregnancy, which can come across as delegitimizing their loss.
From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2018
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
