le·git·i·mate
li-ˈji-tə-mət 
1
2
a
: being exactly as intended or presented : neither spurious nor false
a legitimate grievance
a legitimate claim
a legitimate practitioner
" … we are pretty good at separating legitimate pain from drug-seeking behavior. … "—
Kenneth W. Fogelberg
Kenneth W. Fogelberg
also
: being an actual example of something specified
a legitimate threat to national security
b
: genuinely good, impressive, or capable of success
And if he can fix his start … he is a legitimate contender for gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.—Sean Ingle
Sean Ingle3
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
le·git·i·mate
li-ˈji-tə-ˌmāt
legitimated; legitimating
: to make (someone or something) legitimate (see legitimate entry 1):
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
Synonyms
Examples of legitimate in a Sentence
Adjective
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.
Verb
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.
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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.
Verb
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.
See More
Recent Examples on the WebCarolyn Hax, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023
According to court documents in San Diego federal court, similar groups operating locally have installed card skimmers, usually known as overlay skimmers, by installing a counterfeit faceplate over the top of a legitimate card reader.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Nov. 2023
Related The skeptics have legitimate points, but skeptics also protested electronic instruments, drum machines, CDs, file sharing and programmed tracks.
—Tom Roland, Billboard, 22 Nov. 2023
Candace Owens shouldn’t use the Bible as a shield against legitimate criticism of her commentary on Israel.
—Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 22 Nov. 2023
How is that not a legitimate contribution to rock & roll?
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 19 Nov. 2023
This narrative is able to draw from public anxieties that are somewhat legitimate given the country’s turbulent history.
—Maria Snegovaya, Foreign Affairs, 16 Nov. 2023
The turmoil at Hunter, which has an enrollment of 22,000 students, is part of the long-running campus debate over free speech, student safety and the limits of legitimate criticism of Israel, which has intensified during the Israel-Hamas war.
—Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times, 16 Nov. 2023
His skewed teenage logic kicked in again, telling him to abandon any hope of a normal life or legitimate career.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 14 Nov. 2023
Chloe Taylor, Fortune, 23 Nov. 2023
If your best penalty killer is your goalie, as the hockey cliche goes, that could be a problem for the Kings again and prevent them from making the leap to legitimate Cup contender.
—Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2023
In Bartel’s view, the Cold War ended because the Soviet system was simply unable to legitimate itself in an era of broken promises, whereas Western leaders were able to gain support for their austerity moves under the banner of neoliberalism.
—Foreign Affairs, 28 Feb. 2023
In any event, whatever the exact explanation, those whose putative gains Blackstone invokes in order to legitimate its business–such as teachers, nurses and firefighters–are those who actually tend to get the rawest deal.
—Brett Christophers, Time, 23 June 2023
As decades of scholars have pointed out, that same emphasis on individual consciousness made feminism susceptible to appropriation by opportunists, particularly the leaders, economists, and policymakers whose selective fulfillment of feminist demands helped legitimate their political project.
—Dayna Tortorici, The New York Review of Books, 8 Oct. 2020
The broad views that German politicians tend to have, for instance—or most of them, anyway—about the relationship between Russia and the European Union have been completely upended, such that the status quo is very, very hard now to legitimate in any moral sense.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 20 May 2022
The combination of Hinch's winning mindset, young players already thriving in the majors, prospects coming soon and premier players from the free-agent market should, in theory, push the Tigers to legitimate postseason contention, possibly as soon as 2022.
—Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 5 Aug. 2021
Many of the hurdles to legitimate drug research stem from the Controlled Substances Act, signed into law in 1970 by President Richard Nixon.
—Troy Farah, Discover Magazine, 22 Apr. 2019
See More
Adjective
Maybe your only mistake has been to complain about this legitimate source of confidence.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023
According to court documents in San Diego federal court, similar groups operating locally have installed card skimmers, usually known as overlay skimmers, by installing a counterfeit faceplate over the top of a legitimate card reader.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Nov. 2023
Related The skeptics have legitimate points, but skeptics also protested electronic instruments, drum machines, CDs, file sharing and programmed tracks.
—Tom Roland, Billboard, 22 Nov. 2023
Candace Owens shouldn’t use the Bible as a shield against legitimate criticism of her commentary on Israel.
—Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 22 Nov. 2023
How is that not a legitimate contribution to rock & roll?
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 19 Nov. 2023
This narrative is able to draw from public anxieties that are somewhat legitimate given the country’s turbulent history.
—Maria Snegovaya, Foreign Affairs, 16 Nov. 2023
The turmoil at Hunter, which has an enrollment of 22,000 students, is part of the long-running campus debate over free speech, student safety and the limits of legitimate criticism of Israel, which has intensified during the Israel-Hamas war.
—Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times, 16 Nov. 2023
His skewed teenage logic kicked in again, telling him to abandon any hope of a normal life or legitimate career.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 14 Nov. 2023
Verb
This would help send an additional $1 billion to legitimate artists on the platform, the company added.
—Chloe Taylor, Fortune, 23 Nov. 2023
If your best penalty killer is your goalie, as the hockey cliche goes, that could be a problem for the Kings again and prevent them from making the leap to legitimate Cup contender.
—Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2023
In Bartel’s view, the Cold War ended because the Soviet system was simply unable to legitimate itself in an era of broken promises, whereas Western leaders were able to gain support for their austerity moves under the banner of neoliberalism.
—Foreign Affairs, 28 Feb. 2023
In any event, whatever the exact explanation, those whose putative gains Blackstone invokes in order to legitimate its business–such as teachers, nurses and firefighters–are those who actually tend to get the rawest deal.
—Brett Christophers, Time, 23 June 2023
As decades of scholars have pointed out, that same emphasis on individual consciousness made feminism susceptible to appropriation by opportunists, particularly the leaders, economists, and policymakers whose selective fulfillment of feminist demands helped legitimate their political project.
—Dayna Tortorici, The New York Review of Books, 8 Oct. 2020
The broad views that German politicians tend to have, for instance—or most of them, anyway—about the relationship between Russia and the European Union have been completely upended, such that the status quo is very, very hard now to legitimate in any moral sense.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 20 May 2022
The combination of Hinch's winning mindset, young players already thriving in the majors, prospects coming soon and premier players from the free-agent market should, in theory, push the Tigers to legitimate postseason contention, possibly as soon as 2022.
—Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 5 Aug. 2021
Many of the hurdles to legitimate drug research stem from the Controlled Substances Act, signed into law in 1970 by President Richard Nixon.
—Troy Farah, Discover Magazine, 22 Apr. 2019
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'legitimate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective and Verb
Middle English legitimat, from Medieval Latin legitimatus, past participle of legitimare to legitimate, from Latin legitimus legitimate, from leg-, lex law
First Known Use
Adjective
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3a
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of legitimate was
in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near legitimate
Cite this Entry
“Legitimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legitimate. Accessed 8 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
legitimate
1 of 2 adjective
le·git·i·mate
li-ˈjit-ə-mət
1
: born of parents who are married
legitimate children
2
: lawful
a legitimate claim
3
: being in keeping with what is right or with standards
a legitimate excuse
legitimately
adverb
legitimate
2 of 2 verb
le·git·i·mate
li-ˈjit-ə-ˌmāt
legitimated; legitimating
: to make lawful or legal
Legal Definition
legitimate
1 of 2 adjective
le·git·i·mate
lə-ˈji-tə-mət
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
legitimately
adverb
legitimate
2 of 2 transitive verb
le·git·i·mate
lə-ˈji-tə-ˌmāt
legitimated; legitimating
: to make legitimate: as
a
: to give legal status or authorization to
b
: to show or affirm to be justified or have merit
c
: to put (an illegitimate child) in the state of a child born of married parents before the law by legal means compare filiate
Etymology
Adjective
Medieval Latin legitimatus, past participle of legitimare to give legal status to, from Latin legitimus legally sanctioned, from leg-, lex law
More from Merriam-Webster on legitimate
Nglish: Translation of legitimate for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of legitimate for Arabic Speakers
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