illegitimate

American

[il-i-jit-uh-mit, il-i-jit-uh-meyt] / ˌɪl ɪˈdʒɪt ə mɪt, ˌɪl ɪˈdʒɪt əˌmeɪt /

adjective

born of parents who are not married to each other; born out of wedlock.

an illegitimate child.
not legitimate; not sanctioned by law or custom.
unlawful; illegal.

an illegitimate action.
irregular; not in good usage.
Logic. not in accordance with the principles of valid inference.
Obsolete. (formerly, in London)
1. of or relating to stage plays in which musical numbers were inserted because of laws that gave only a few theaters the exclusive right to produce straight dramas.
2. acting in or producing such productions.

noun

a person recognized or looked upon as illegitimate.

verb (used with object)

illegitimated, illegitimating

to declare illegitimate.

illegitimate British

/ ˌɪlɪˈdʒɪtɪmɪt /

adjective

born of parents who were not married to each other at the time of birth; bastard
forbidden by law; illegal; unlawful
contrary to logic; incorrectly reasoned

"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

noun

an illegitimate person; bastard

"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

Related Words

See illegal.

Other Word Forms

illegitimacy noun
illegitimately adverb
illegitimateness noun
illegitimation noun

Etymology

Origin of illegitimate

First recorded in 1530–40; il- ² + legitimate

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.

Interpol only releases very basic data about illegitimate requests for arrests and since 2018 has not revealed which countries are the subject of complaints and inquiries.

From BBC

One of the protesters, Hussein Mohammed al-Yafai, told AFP he had come out to "reject the illegitimate measures taken by Saudi Arabia... against the South."

From Barron's

None of this evidence implies that anger was illegitimate or grievances unfounded.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Guantánamo Naval Station in Cuba is an exception where the host country deems U.S. presence illegitimate.

From The Wall Street Journal

The ambassador for Venezuela, Samuel Moncada, said his country had been the target of an "illegitimate armed attack lacking any legal justification".

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023