illegitimate

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adjective il·le·git·i·mate \ˌi-li-ˈji-tə-mət\

Definition of illegitimate

1 : not recognized as lawful offspring; specifically : born of parents not married to each other
2 : not rightly deduced or inferred : illogical
3 : departing from the regular : erratic
4a : not sanctioned by law : illegalb : not authorized by good usagec of a taxon : published but not in accordance with the rules of the relevant international code

illegitimately

adverb

See illegitimate defined for English-language learners

See illegitimate defined for kids

Examples of illegitimate in a Sentence

She thinks that my concerns are illegitimate.
They were fired from their jobs for illegitimate reasons.

Recent Examples of illegitimate from the Web

According to the Miami Herald, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch ruled that the lawmakers who modified the law this year forcing prosecutors to disprove a defendant’s self-defense claim at a pre-trial hearing was illegitimate.

— angela helm, The Root, "Miami Judge Rules New ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law Unconstitutional", 4 July 2017
Snow, an illegitimate child never embraced by his father’s wife, is a James Dean daydream of Sir Walter Scott.

— TIME.com, "Game of Thrones: How They Make the World’s Most Popular Show", 30 June 2017
Erdogan was clearly drawing the line between God-fearing good Turks and those who preferred the illegitimate legacy of two alcoholics.

— steven a. cook, The Atlantic, "Turkey's Identity Crisis", 25 June 2017
Chris Meloni's Gene returns with perhaps an illegitimate son in tow.

— tom philip, GQ, "Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later", 23 June 2017
Microsoft says that its own Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection can even distinguish between legitimate uses of serial-over-LAN and illegitimate ones.

— peter bright, Ars Technica, "Sneaky hackers use Intel management tools to bypass Windows firewall", 9 June 2017
That's not an illegitimate concern, but Louisiana shouldn't defend bad policy simply because there are some people who might personally like a bad policy.

— jarvis deberry, NOLA.com, "Louisiana criminal justice reform closer to becoming reality: Opinion", 2 June 2017
Similar measures had some success with other illegitimate rulers.

— baltimoresun.com, "Justice in the Congo", 1 June 2017
The retired officers also argue that a potentially illegitimate court harms the United States’ ability to argue that, if American service members are taken captive, they should be treated under international law.

— carol rosenberg, miamiherald, "Retired generals, admirals urge Supreme Court to hear Guantánamo case", 1 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'illegitimate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of illegitimate

1536

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

ILLEGITIMATE Defined for English Language Learners

illegitimate

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adjective

Definition of illegitimate for English Language Learners

: born to a father and mother who are not married
: not allowed according to rules or laws
: not reasonable or fair

ILLEGITIMATE Defined for Kids

illegitimate

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adjective il·le·git·i·mate \ˌi-li-ˈji-tə-mət\

Definition of illegitimate for Students

: not accepted by the law as rightful an illegitimate ruler

Law Dictionary

illegitimate

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adjective il·le·git·i·mate \ˌi-li-ˈji-tə-mət\

Legal Definition of illegitimate

1 : not recognized by the law as offspring; specifically : born out of marriage Editor's note: An illegitimate child is usually legitimated by his or her parents' later marriage. Illegitimate children generally have the same inheritance rights under intestate successions as legitimate children; statutes limiting their inheritance rights have been found to violate the equal protection clause.
2 : not valid according to law