legitimate government

Cultural  

1. A government generally acknowledged as being in control of a nation and deserving formal recognition, which is symbolized by the exchange of diplomats between that government and the governments of other countries.

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Example Sentences

There’s a legitimate debate over how to treat worship spaces in a time of encroaching authoritarianism.

From Slate • Jan. 30, 2026

It is a legitimate debate of how the Fed should respond when inflation is moving higher and the labor market is weakening, she said.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 29, 2025

“Such words are outside the bounds of legitimate debate and unimaginably harmful.”

From Seattle Times • Apr. 16, 2024

But they have said that whether it emerged naturally, perhaps from a market in Wuhan, or escaped accidentally from a lab is the subject of legitimate debate.

From New York Times • Feb. 26, 2023

The sphere of legitimate debate can be problematic as well: Objectivity and balance can be sharply at odds with one another, as another example I cited pointed out:

From Salon • Jan. 5, 2020