legitimate

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

Updated on: 17 May 2018

Definition of legitimate

1 a : lawfully begotten; specifically : born in wedlock

b : having full filial rights and obligations by birth

a legitimate child

2 : being exactly as purposed : neither spurious nor false

a legitimate grievance

a legitimate practitioner

3 a : accordant with law or with established legal forms and requirements

a legitimate government

b : ruling by or based on the strict principle of hereditary right

a legitimate king

4 : conforming to recognized principles or accepted rules and standards

a legitimate advertising expenditure

a legitimate inference

5 : relating to plays acted by professional actors but not including revues, burlesque, or some forms of musical comedy

the legitimate theater

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legitimately

adverb

See legitimate defined for English-language learners

See legitimate defined for kids

Examples of legitimate in a Sentence

Law books were getting thicker by the week with Supreme Court decisions barring legitimate claims because they weren't timely filed. —John Grisham, The Chamber, 1995
Even in many courtrooms, where there is valid concern about the privacy of defendants, judges recognize that camera coverage serves a legitimate public interest. —New Republic, 22 Feb. 1993
He was indeed already a legitimate child according to the law of Scotland, by the subsequent marriage of his parents. —Sir Walter Scott, The Heart of Mid-Lothian, 1818
legitimate means for achieving success
the legitimate use of firearms
There's no legitimate reason for prescribing this medication to a child.

Recent Examples of legitimate from the Web

Free agents typically seek to maximize their earnings and join not just a team with a winning record but one that has a legitimate chance to advance deep into the postseason.

— j. michael, Indianapolis Star, "Veteran Al Jefferson: Lack of experience catches up with Pacers but better things to come," 30 Apr. 2018
The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald tweeted evidence that both NBC and Reid’s security consultant have ignored requests for evidence that the hacking claim is legitimate.

— brian flood, Fox News, "MSNBC star Joy Reid in crisis as critics, experts slam her claims she was 'hacked' and didn’t make homophobic slurs," 25 Apr. 2018
The online retail giant says that more than 99 percent of its reviews are legitimate because they are written by real shoppers who aren't paid for them.

— author: elizabeth dwoskin, craig timberg, Anchorage Daily News, "How merchants quietly use Facebook to flood Amazon with fake reviews," 24 Apr. 2018
The online retail giant says that more than 99 percent of its reviews are legitimate because they are written by real shoppers who aren’t paid for them.

— washington post, BostonGlobe.com, "How merchants quietly use Facebook to flood Amazon with fake reviews," 23 Apr. 2018
John Vidale of the Southern California Earthquake Center, said California's fears are legitimate.

— doyle rice, USA TODAY, "'It's only a question of time': California is overdue for a massive earthquake," 18 Apr. 2018
But look, some of that criticism of Joe Flacco is legitimate.

— childs walker, baltimoresun.com, "As NFL draft approaches, Ravens near a potential crossroads at quarterback," 14 Apr. 2018
The number of people who received this message tells me that the image is legitimate and was accidentally sent out far ahead of schedule by Spotify.

— chris welch, The Verge, "Spotify’s first hardware device might be this music player for your car," 6 Apr. 2018
This assumes an investment is legitimate, meaning that it has been properly registered with accurate disclosure documents, with a real management team and assets behind it.

— russ wiles, azcentral, "How vulnerable are you to financial fraud? Answering these 6 questions will help tell you," 13 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of legitimate

Middle English legitimat, from Medieval Latin legitimatus, past participle of legitimare to legitimate, from Latin legitimus legitimate, from leg-, lex law

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 3a

See Words from the same year

legitimate Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of legitimate

lawful, legal, legitimate, licit mean being in accordance with law. lawful may apply to conformity with law of any sort (such as natural, divine, common, or canon).

- the lawful sovereign

legal applies to what is sanctioned by law or in conformity with the law, especially as it is written or administered by the courts.

- legal residents of the state

legitimate may apply to a legal right or status but also, in extended use, to a right or status supported by tradition, custom, or accepted standards.

- a perfectly legitimate question about taxes

licit applies to a strict conformity to the provisions of the law and applies especially to what is regulated by law.

- the licit use of drugs by doctors

Other Legal Terms

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

legitimate

verb le·git·i·mate \ li-ˈji-tə-ˌmāt \

Definition of legitimate

legitimated; legitimating

transitive verb

: to make (someone or something) legitimate (see ¹legitimate):

a (1) : to give legal status or authorization to

(2) : to show or affirm to be justified

(3) : to lend authority or respectability to

b : to give (a child born out of wedlock) the same legal status as a child born in wedlock

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legitimation

play \li-ˌji-tə-ˈmā-shən\ noun

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legitimator

play \li-ˈji-tə-ˌmā-tər\ noun

See legitimate defined for English-language learners

Examples of legitimate in a Sentence

Which comes first, the desire to legitimate euthanasia or the nullifying of a distinction between killing and allowing to die? —Daniel Callahan, Commonweal, 2 June 2000
Poland has ceased being a nation with even a pretense of Communist rule, a rule that is legitimated by Marxist ideology. —Irving Kristol, Wall Street Journal, 11 Jan. 1982
… they are more concerned with the ways in which schools and colleges legitimate and maintain inequality than with the ways they devalue and restrict personal autonomy. —Christopher Jencks, New York Times Book Review, 15 Feb. 1976
slang words legitimated by usage
Her tendency to be secretive only serves to legitimate their suspicions.

Recent Examples of legitimate from the Web

At the moment, the pressing issue is how the Padres propose to jump from non-factor to legitimate contender.

— dennis lin, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Padres extend A.J. Preller through 2022," 3 Dec. 2017
By legitimating ethno-national passions, intellectuals created and unleashed them.

— william a. galston, WSJ, "Macron’s Democratic Vision," 24 Apr. 2018
The North Korean ruler will get an early bonus just by meeting as an equal with Mr. Trump, which legitimates Mr. Kim’s rule.

— robert b. zoellick, WSJ, "10 Tips for Negotiating With Kim Jong Un," 27 Mar. 2018
Perhaps there should be apologies and reparative action from the publishers that printed, promoted, circulated, and profited from materials that served to legitimate Jim Crow and racist domestic terrorism.

— alfred brophy, Fortune, "Commentary: Why Haven’t Publishers Apologized for Their Books That Glorify Slavery?," 2 Feb. 2018
But such a failure would probably, nonetheless, help to legitimate his existing efforts to undermine liberal norms and consolidate his influence over federal law enforcement, at least to his fellow members of the Republican Party.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "The President Seems to Think a Second 9/11 Would Have Its Upsides," 30 Jan. 2018
This has quickly escalated from pleasing story to legitimate contender.

— jon wertheim, SI.com, "2018 Australian Open Seed Reports," 11 Jan. 2018
But legitimating the National Prayer Breakfast was a signature achievement.

— diane winston, Smithsonian, "The History of the National Prayer Breakfast," 2 Feb. 2017
Over the course of their epic careers, the rivals legitimated the use of cosmetics for respectable women, along the way perfecting such vanity-table staples as the lipstick tube and the mascara wand.

— amy fine collins, HWD, "War Paint, the Broadway Musical About Dueling Beauty Queens, Heads to the Great White Way," 2 Mar. 2017

Origin and Etymology of legitimate

see ¹legitimate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense a(1)

See Words from the same year

Other Legal Terms

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

LEGITIMATE Defined for English Language Learners

legitimate

adjective

Definition of legitimate for English Language Learners

: allowed according to rules or laws
: real, accepted, or official
: fair or reasonable

legitimate

verb

Definition of legitimate for English Language Learners

: to make (something) real, accepted, or official
: to show that (something or someone) is fair or reasonable

LEGITIMATE Defined for Kids

legitimate

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

Definition of legitimate for Students

1 : accepted by the law as rightful : lawful

a legitimate heir

2 : being right or acceptable

a legitimate excuse

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legitimately

adverb

Law Dictionary

legitimate

adjective le·git·i·mate \ lə-ˈji-tə-mət \

legal Definition of legitimate

1 : conceived or born of parents lawfully married to each other or having been made through legal procedure equal in status to one so conceived or born; also : having rights and obligations under the law as the child of such birth

2 : being neither spurious nor false

a legitimate grievance

3 : being in accordance with law or with established legal forms and requirements

a legitimate government

4 : conforming to recognized principles or accepted rules and standards

a legitimate claim of entitlement

a legitimate business reason

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legitimately

adverb

Origin and Etymology of legitimate

Medieval Latin legitimatus, past participle of legitimare to give legal status to, from Latin legitimus legally sanctioned, from leg-, lex law