illegitimate

adjective

ˌi-li-ˈji-tə-mət How to pronounce illegitimate (audio)
Definition of illegitimatenext
1
as in spurious
born to a father and mother who are not married despite being illegitimate, Alexander Hamilton rose to greatness

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in illegal
contrary to or forbidden by law an illegitimate use of campaign contributions for personal expenses

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in unreasonable
not using or following good reasoning made several illegitimate inferences

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of illegitimate Some fraudsters run an illegitimate DME company and get a doctor to prescribe the equipment. — Janice Neumann, Chicago Tribune, 16 June 2026 Yet these arrangements are rarely viewed as inherently illegitimate. — Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 4 June 2026 After testing against other economic variables that may have contributed to higher costs, and comparing housing activity in high-fraud ZIP codes to low-fraud ones in the same county, the researchers found illegitimate PPP loans to be one of the core drivers of housing prices. — Tristan Bove, Fortune, 29 May 2026 That does not automatically mean every lawsuit involving a president and an executive agency is illegitimate. — Andrew Leahey, Forbes.com, 29 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for illegitimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegitimate
  1. spurious
  2. unlawful
  3. unreasonable
  4. misbegotten
  5. illicit
  6. irrational
  7. adopted
  8. criminal
Adjective
  • Researchers found that models can score well on standard benchmarks while relying on spurious correlations in their training data.
    — Lucas Zhao, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
  • The philosopher Michael Sandel (Rhodes Scholar, Harvard professor) accuses elites of hiding their privilege behind spurious claims of merit.
    — Gilad Edelman, The Atlantic, 19 July 2026
Definition of spurious
Adjective
  • The 15-year-old is being held on suspicion of three counts of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
    — Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 28 July 2026
  • California Secretary of State Shirley Weber voiced support for the bill in a statement and said the nation’s elections must remain free from intimidation and unlawful interference from any source.
    — Alula Alderson, Sacbee.com, 27 July 2026
Definition of unlawful
Adjective
  • From the second Eldridge was drafted, a little devil appeared on your shoulder and whispered unreasonable expectations into your ear.
    — Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 13 July 2026
  • In a poll on the post, 95% voted that this parent is NOT being unreasonable.
    — Melissa Willets, Parents, 12 July 2026
Definition of unreasonable
Adjective
  • Presented by Hollywood Entertainment, the evening could be ground zero for the next stage of the misbegotten movie’s revival.
    — Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
  • At next week’s meeting, Kevin Warsh must vigorously attack this misbegotten idea, the Phillips Curve.
    — Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
Definition of misbegotten
Adjective
  • Anthropic, which is valued at close to $1 trillion and has aspirations of going public in the near future, said stopping illicit distillation was a matter of national security.
    — Kif Leswing,Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 25 July 2026
  • Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said improving visibility will help curtail illicit activity and will also make riders feel safer about sitting inside the shelters.
    — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 25 July 2026
Definition of illicit
Adjective
  • In both cases, cheap credit fueled the irrational exuberance.
    — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026
  • An irrational holding on to the possibility of a comeback, if that was the word if no one noticed you’d retired in the first place.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 July 2026
Definition of irrational
Adjective
  • The adopted operating budget for 2026 was $883 million, a number that could inch closer to $1 billion in 2027.
    — Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 16 June 2026
  • For now, the fish are functioning fine in their adopted creek.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
Definition of adopted
Adjective
  • He had not been involved in a criminal case before in the county, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Casey McNerthney said.
    — Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 28 July 2026
  • Now, the community is about to enter what could be the final chapter in the criminal cases stemming from the state’s deadliest school shooting.
    — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 27 July 2026
Definition of criminal

Browse Nearby Words

illegitimacy
illegitimate
ill-fated
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Cite this Entry

“Illegitimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegitimate. Accessed 31 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of illegitimate for Spanish Speakers

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