illegitimate

illegitimate

adjective

Definition of ILLEGITIMATE

1

born to a father and mother who are not married <despite being illegitimate, Alexander Hamilton rose to greatness>

Synonyms baseborn, bastard, misbegotten, natural, spurious, supposititious, unfathered

Related Words fatherless, motherless; nameless; adopted, orphaned

Antonyms legitimate

2

contrary to or forbidden by law <an illegitimate use of campaign contributions for personal expenses>

Synonyms criminal, felonious, illegitimate, illicit, lawless, unlawful, wrongful

Related Words bad, evil, immoral, shameful, sinful, unethical, wicked, wrong; blamable, blameworthy, censurable, reprehensible; banned, barred, contraband, criminalized, disallowed, discouraged, forbidden, interdicted, outlawed, prohibited, proscribed; adulterine, bootleg, unauthorized, unlicensed, unsanctioned; under-the-counter, under-the-table; corrupt, unprincipled, unscrupulous, villainous

Near Antonyms ethical, good, just, principled, right, righteous, virtuous; allowed, permitted; authorized, licensed; approved, endorsed (also indorsed), sanctioned; abetted, encouraged, promoted, suggested, supported; correct, decent, decorous, proper, seemly

Antonyms lawful, legal, legitimate

3

not using or following good reasoning <made several illegitimate inferences>

Synonyms fallacious, illegitimate, inconsequent, inconsequential, invalid, irrational, nonrational, unreasonable, unreasoning, unsound, weak

Related Words eristic (also eristical), misleading, sophistic (or sophistical), specious; half-baked, ill-advised, misguided, unconsidered, unreasoned; inconsistent; absurd, asinine, foolish, meaningless, nonsensical, preposterous, reasonless, senseless, silly; Kafkaesque, odd, peculiar, strange, surreal, unusual, weird; insane, mad, nutty, wacky (also whacky); disordered, disorganized, rambling, random; unconvincing; inexplicable, unaccountable, unexplainable

Near Antonyms commonsense, sane, sensible, sober, wise; enlightened, informed, just, justified, reasoned; ordered, organized; clear, cogent, compelling, convincing, credible, persuasive, plausible, satisfying, solid; certain, sure, true; confirmed, corroborated, demonstrated, established, substantiated, validated

Antonyms logical, rational, reasonable, sound, valid, well-founded, well-grounded