legitimate
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.
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.
the legitimate, the legitimate theater or drama.
a person who is established as being legitimate.
Origin of legitimate
1Other words for legitimate
Opposites for legitimate
Other words from legitimate
- le·git·i·mate·ly, adverb
- le·git·i·mate·ness, noun
- le·git·i·ma·tion, noun
- de·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, noun
- non·le·git·i·mate, adjective
- post·le·git·i·ma·tion, noun
- qua·si-le·git·i·mate, adjective
- qua·si-le·git·i·mate·ly, adverb
Words that may be confused with legitimate
- legitimate , legitimize
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use legitimate in a sentence
I’m overloaded, and the assignments just keep coming, with no legitimate-enough excuse to make my “no, thank you” stick.
Worker resents having to pick up slack for working moms and dads | Karla Miller | October 29, 2020 | Washington PostI think what that’s telling us is that for all of the partisan gamesmanship, for all of the last-minute litigation, for all of the legitimate concerns we all have about the pandemic and foreign interference, the voters are saving us.
Millions of mail ballots have not been returned as window closes for Postal Service delivery | Derek Hawkins, Jacob Bogage | October 28, 2020 | Washington PostWith AlexNet’s victory, deep nets became legitimate contenders in the field of AI and machine learning.
Deep Neural Networks Help to Explain Living Brains | Anil Ananthaswamy | October 28, 2020 | Quanta MagazineFurthermore, efforts to engage in overtly political activity may have come at the expense of legitimate functions of the department’s mission.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Headlines GOP Fundraiser as COVID-19 Cases Surge | by Isaac Arnsdorf | October 21, 2020 | ProPublicaThe nationwide shortage of poll workers was another legitimate worry earlier in the year.
The 2020 election could permanently change how America votes | Bobbie Johnson | October 20, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
He said, "Democratic governments rely on eudaemonic legitimation."
If there prevails a body of popular sentient in favor of sports, why is not that fact a sufficient legitimation?
The Theory of the Leisure Class | Thorstein VeblenIt is usual to provide couriers with special passports for the purpose of their legitimation.
International Law. A Treatise. Volume I (of 2) | Lassa Francis OppenheimOn the 9th of this month he obtained letters of legitimation for his son John, who might now be about ten years old.
Prescription is as strong a ground of legitimation in a case of this nature, as it is in law.
English Past and Present | Richard Chevenix TrenchTherefore his coronation was the fitting completion and legitimation of his authority, sanctifying rather than increasing it.
The Holy Roman Empire | James Bryce
British Dictionary definitions for legitimate
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 valid: a legitimate question
authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law
of, relating to, or ruling by hereditary right: a legitimate monarch
of or relating to a body of famous long-established plays as distinct from films, television, vaudeville, etc: the legitimate theatre
(tr) to make, pronounce, or show to be legitimate
Origin of legitimate
1Derived forms of legitimate
- legitimacy or legitimateness, noun
- legitimately, adverb
- legitimation, noun
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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