illegitimate
Americanadjective
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born of parents who are not married to each other; born out of wedlock.
an illegitimate child.
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not legitimate; not sanctioned by law or custom.
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unlawful; illegal.
an illegitimate action.
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irregular; not in good usage.
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Logic. not in accordance with the principles of valid inference.
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Obsolete. (formerly, in London)
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of or relating to stage plays in which musical numbers were inserted because of laws that gave only a few theaters the exclusive right to produce straight dramas.
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acting in or producing such productions.
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noun
verb (used with object)
adjective
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born of parents who were not married to each other at the time of birth; bastard
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forbidden by law; illegal; unlawful
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contrary to logic; incorrectly reasoned
noun
Related Words
See illegal.
Other Word Forms
- illegitimacy noun
- illegitimately adverb
- illegitimateness noun
- illegitimation noun
Etymology
Origin of illegitimate
First recorded in 1530–40; il- 2 + legitimate
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.
Years of decay have left oil fields, pipelines and refineries in disrepair, with investors wary of sinking large sums and signing deals with a government led by Rodríguez that is widely viewed as illegitimate.
With around 40% of births in the U.S. illegitimate, it’s easy to identify the problem but not so easy to correct it.
Teenage parents and families of illegitimate children would respond, offering to pay them up to £15, approximately £2,300 in today's money.
From BBC
Meta and YouTube strongly deny the allegations, and also unsuccessfully argued on Friday for the judge to declare statements comparing their platforms to tobacco and other addictive products to be illegitimate.
From Barron's
Viewers eventually learn Sophie’s servitude is forced after her parentage is revealed — she’s the illegitimate daughter of an earl.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
