legitimize

American  

[li-jit-uh-mahyz] / lɪˈdʒɪt əˌmaɪz /

especially British, legitimise especially british, legitimatize,

verb (used with object)

legitimized, legitimizing

1. to make legitimate.

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legitimize British  

/ lɪˈdʒɪtɪməˌtaɪz, lɪˈdʒɪtɪˌmaɪz /

verb

1. (tr) to make legitimate; legalize

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Other Word Forms

• legitimization
  noun

Etymology

Origin of legitimize

First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin lēgitim(us) ( see legitim) + -ize

Explanation

When you legitimize something, you officially approve it, or make it legal. For example, a 1967 Supreme Court case legitimized interracial marriage in the United States. The verb legitimize is very similar to legalize, although there are some slight differences between the two. When you legalize something, you also legitimize it — it's permitted, or allowed. But when you legitimize something, it doesn't always involve the legal system. For example, your teacher might legitimize open-book tests or your boss could legitimize bringing dogs to work.

Example Sentences

Still, the license it received Tuesday helps Oklo legitimize its business model as it pursues the commercial production of power by 2028.

From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026

With such blatant motives, the press can either interrogate this relationship or help legitimize it.

From Salon • Jan. 5, 2026

In the decades that followed, in his complementary positions as book critic and editor, Cowley worked tirelessly to legitimize the innovative writing of Hemingway, John Dos Passos, Hart Crane, E.E.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

Princiotti also concludes that the female pop stars of the 2000s helped legitimize pop music.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2025

Thus they legitimize a profoundly anachronistic reading of the dispute between Hobbes and Boyle by placing their own view of that dispute into the mouth of Hobbes.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• codify
• constitute
• decriminalize
• legislate
• regulate