legitimate

[ adjective, noun li-jit-uh-mit; verb li-jit-uh-meyt ]

/ adjective, noun lɪˈdʒɪt ə mɪt; verb lɪˈdʒɪt əˌmeɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR legitimate ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

according to law; lawful: the property's legitimate owner.

in accordance with established rules, principles, or standards.

born in wedlock or of legally married parents: legitimate children.

in accordance with the laws of reasoning; logically inferable; logical: a legitimate conclusion.

resting on or ruling by the principle of hereditary right: a legitimate sovereign.

not spurious or unjustified; genuine: It was a legitimate complaint.

of the normal or regular type or kind.

Theater. of or relating to professionally produced stage plays, as distinguished from burlesque, vaudeville, television, motion pictures, etc.: an actor in the legitimate theater.

verb (used with object), le·git·i·mat·ed, le·git·i·mat·ing.

to make lawful or legal; pronounce or state as lawful: Parliament legitimated his accession to the throne.

to establish as lawfully born: His bastard children were afterward legitimated by law.

to show or declare to be legitimate or proper: He was under obligation to legitimate his commission.

to justify; sanction or authorize: His behavior was legitimated by custom.

noun

the legitimate, the legitimate theater or drama.

a person who is established as being legitimate.

Nearby words

Origin of legitimate

First recorded in 1485–95, legitimate is from the Medieval Latin word lēgitimātus (past participle of lēgitimāre to make lawful). See legitim, -ate¹

SYNONYMS FOR legitimate

1. legal, licit. 2. sanctioned. 4. valid. 9. legalize.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR legitimate ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR legitimate

1. illegitimate.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR legitimate ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

le·git·i·mate·ly, adverble·git·i·mate·ness, nounle·git·i·ma·tion, nounde·le·git·i·mate, verb (used with object), de·le·git·i·mat·ed, de·le·git·i·mat·ing.

de·le·git·i·ma·tion, nounnon·le·git·i·mate, adjectivepost·le·git·i·ma·tion, nounqua·si-le·git·i·mate, adjectivequa·si-le·git·i·mate·ly, adverb

Can be confusedlegitimate legitimize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for legitimate

There are limits to the painting of banditry and extortion as the legitimate raising of taxes.
ISIS’s Futile Quest to Go Legit|Jamie Dettmer|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In 2012, as a 10th grader, Lean says he recorded his first legitimate song, “Hurt.”
The Cult of Yung Lean: ‘I’m Building An Anarchistic Society From the Ground Up’|Marlow Stern|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He was courteous, explained the legitimate reason we were briefly pulled over, and then let us continue on our way.
Obama Is Right on Race. The Media Is Wrong.|Keli Goff|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There are legitimate criticisms of the study, but not because it includes “attempted forced kissing,” as Lowry suggested.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: Dec. 7|PunditFact.com|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Williams sold hardware manufactured by a legitimate company, said Sargent, who took a 25 to 30 percent commission.
Patients Screwed in Spine Surgery ‘Scam’|The Center for Investigative Reporting|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Our object is to check by every legitimate means the spread of tommyrot in this country and the world generally.
Lalage's Lovers|George A. Birmingham
But he is ready to respect the dame, if she proves to deserve it, as a legitimate connection.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 89, March, 1865|Various
He has seen so much done by energy and money that he probably thought the one as legitimate a lever into Parliament as the other.
Mr. Punch's History of Modern England Vol. II (of IV),--1857-1874|Charles L. Graves
Legitimate government can be formed only by the voluntary association of all who contribute to its support.
An Essay on the Trial by Jury|Lysander Spooner
In fact there can be, and there is, no escape from the legitimate conclusion.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 64, No. 397, November 1848|Various

British Dictionary definitions for legitimate

legitimate

adjective (lɪˈdʒɪtɪmɪt)

born in lawful wedlock; enjoying full filial rights

conforming to established standards of usage, behaviour, etc

based on correct or acceptable principles of reasoning

reasonable, sensible, or valida legitimate question

authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law

of, relating to, or ruling by hereditary righta legitimate monarch

of or relating to a body of famous long-established plays as distinct from films, television, vaudeville, etcthe legitimate theatre

verb (lɪˈdʒɪtɪˌmeɪt)

(tr) to make, pronounce, or show to be legitimate

Derived Formslegitimacy or legitimateness, nounlegitimately, adverblegitimation, noun

Word Origin for legitimate

C15: from Medieval Latin lēgitimātus made legal, from lēx law

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

Word Origin and History for legitimate

legitimate

adj.

mid-15c., "lawfully begotten," from Middle French legitimer and directly from Medieval Latin legitimatus, past participle of legitimare "make lawful, declare to be lawful," from Latin legitimus "lawful," originally "fixed by law, in line with the law," from lex (genitive legis) "law" (see legal). Transferred sense of "genuine, real" is attested from 1550s. Related: Legitimately.

legitimate

1590s, from Medieval Latin legitimatus, past participle of legitimare (see legitimate (adj.)). Related: Legitimated; legitimating.

legitimate

adjective

verb (used with object), le·git·i·mat·ed, le·git·i·mat·ing.

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of legitimate

Examples from the Web for legitimate

legitimate

adjective (lɪˈdʒɪtɪmɪt)

verb (lɪˈdʒɪtɪˌmeɪt)

Word Origin for legitimate

legitimate

legitimate