illegitimacy

[ il-i-jit-uh-muh-see ]

noun,plural il·le·git·i·ma·cies.

Origin of illegitimacy

First recorded in 1670–80; illegitim(ate) + -acy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

To overcompensate for illegitimacy, authoritarian states often lean on a demonized enemy to rally against.
Putin's Isn't the Only Regime Leveraging Fossil Fuels for Aggression | Simon Maghakyan | April 4, 2022 | Time
Pheu Thai and smaller parties could still pass laws, but those could be subject to charges of “illegitimacy” later.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Toppled by ‘The Iron Triangle’ | Lennox Samuels | May 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
They play to chords of resentment and cast a veneer of illegitimacy over actions and lives lived honorably.
Obama, Romney Tax Returns Unleash Worst Political Instincts | Zachary Karabell | April 13, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
But to deduce from this a fragility, if not illegitimacy, in the NTC makes no sense.
Stay the Course in Libya | Bernard-Henri Lévy | August 2, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
So, Holbrooke went to Kabul and blasted Karzai for the corruption, inefficiency, and illegitimacy of his government.
The Richard Holbrooke I Knew | Leslie H. Gelb | January 2, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST

Violet Walbridge was a failure at illegitimacy and lawless passion, and, what was worse, she knew it.
Happy House | Betsey Riddle, Freifrau von Hutten zum Stolzenberg
The spectres of illegitimacy and civil ruin are what would stare them in the face, and turn their very lips so white.
The College, the Market, and the Court | Caroline H. Dall
But the story of his illegitimacy and foreign birth was current long before this date was established.
Giovanni Boccaccio, a Biographical Study | Edward Hutton
The best aspects both of legitimacy and of illegitimacy were to be stereoscoped in the perfect birth.
Gray youth | Oliver Onions
The subject is difficult and unpleasant: illegitimacy is wicked and, therefore, must not be talked about.
Women's Wild Oats | C. Gasquoine Hartley

illegitimacy

The condition of being born to unmarried parents. It was once considered a mark of disgrace but is generally more accepted now.

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