illegitimacy

American  

[il-i-jit-uh-muh-see] / ˌɪl ɪˈdʒɪt ə mə si /

noun

• illegitimacies
  plural

1. the state or quality of being illegitimate.

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illegitimacy Cultural  

1. The condition of being born to unmarried parents. It was once considered a mark of disgrace but is generally more accepted now.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• illegitimacies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of illegitimacy

First recorded in 1670–80; illegitim(ate) + -acy

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

illegitimacy illegitimacies

Mr. Brandreth also appreciates quite a few of Milne’s 40 well-made plays, which fashionably skirt around then-trendy issues of authenticity and illegitimacy in the most un-Ibsen-like way possible.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

He also insisted that Iran's doctrine was "rooted in our belief in the prohibition and illegitimacy of nuclear weapons".

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2025

Therefore anti-war protesters coalesced in Chicago to protest Humphrey's impending coronation, lending an air of illegitimacy to the otherwise inevitable.

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2024

As I was reading the book, I remembered the illegitimacy I felt as a child when I realized my parents were unwed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2023

“A degradation to illegitimacy and ignorance, to be married to a respectable, intelligent gentleman-farmer!”

From "Emma" by Jane Austen

I asked him—a Scotch marriage, or some of those crooked wed-locks on which they found bigamies and illegitimacies.

From The Tenants of Malory Volume 3 of 3 by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

You never objected to any of the illegitimacies that have preceded FRITZ;—why then should you begin now?

From Punchinello, Volume 1, No. 18, July 30, 1870 by Various