illegitimate
born of parents who are not married to each other; born out of wedlock: an illegitimate child.
not legitimate; not sanctioned by law or custom.
unlawful; illegal: an illegitimate action.
irregular; not in good usage.
Logic. not in accordance with the principles of valid inference.
Obsolete. (formerly, in London)
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.
acting in or producing such productions.
a person recognized or looked upon as illegitimate.
to declare illegitimate.
Origin of illegitimate
1synonym study For illegitimate
Other words from illegitimate
- il·le·git·i·mate·ly, adverb
- il·le·git·i·mate·ness, il·le·git·i·ma·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use illegitimate in a sentence
They’re now pretty much alone among possible 2024 hopefuls in taking this one last stand against the results of an election that polls show a majority of the GOP base regards as illegitimate.
An insurrection sets an ugly stage for 2024 GOP presidential hopefuls | Aaron Blake | January 7, 2021 | Washington PostGoing forward, Lamb predicted, those claiming the election was illegitimate “will make the same arguments.”
A congressman’s outburst on the House floor puts the Sedition Caucus to shame | Greg Sargent | January 7, 2021 | Washington PostYet, many Democrats continued to regard Hayes as an illegitimate president.
Ted Cruz’s proposed election commission can only hurt the country | Stuart MacKay | January 6, 2021 | Washington PostGoogle’s algorithms would, they said, easily detect and reject the illegitimate clicks—AdNauseam would be no match for Google’s sophisticated defenses.
This tool lets you confuse Google’s ad network, and a test shows it works | Konstantin Kakaes | January 6, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewThis rigged and illegitimate process is wrong, and it follows a pattern of the majority leader and Senate Republicans abusing their power to break their own standards on Supreme Court nominations.
Senate confirms Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court | Chris Johnson | October 27, 2020 | Washington Blade
In many ways the position of the illegitimately born child, always sufficiently bad, has been rendered worse under war conditions.
Women's Wild Oats | C. Gasquoine HartleyThe English law has always looked with great disfavor on the illegitimately born child.
Women's Wild Oats | C. Gasquoine HartleyEvery illegitimately born child would be placed in a position of safety.
Women's Wild Oats | C. Gasquoine HartleyThe will, which is illegitimately stretched to include feeling, is treated as the creator as well as the discerner of reality.
Outspoken Essays | William Ralph IngeShould one happen to be illegitimately born, he is not eligible to a trade, though he even be holy.
Epistle Sermons, Vol. II | Martin Luther
British Dictionary definitions for illegitimate
/ (ˌɪlɪˈdʒɪtɪmɪt) /
born of parents who were not married to each other at the time of birth; bastard
forbidden by law; illegal; unlawful
contrary to logic; incorrectly reasoned
an illegitimate person; bastard
Derived forms of illegitimate
- illegitimacy or illegitimateness, noun
- illegitimately, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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