legitimize
verb (used with object)
to make legitimate.
legitimizing
-
present participleof legitimize.present participle
A verb form that is used in progressive verb constructions and may also function as a modifier or a gerund.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Rather than serving as "an impartial chronographic work," the researchers suggest it may instead have functioned as "a legitimizing canon of kings, which was periodically updated to remove short-lived or parallel Neo-Assyrian rulers."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
Renewed U.S. government interest and new quantum AI models from Nvidia are legitimizing the quantum computing space.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
Yet the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior had the unexpected effect of legitimizing Greenpeace in the eyes of many people around the world.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
The rest of the culture was already partly there, what with our jokes identifying close co-workers as work spouses and the many TV shows legitimizing the concept of the office family.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2025
The discovery of America was crucial in legitimizing innovation because within forty years no one disputed that it really was an unprecedented event, and one that could not be ignored.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
