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
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.
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.
Recent Examples on the Web
Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 14 July 2025
Even legitimate payment flows from emerging markets are frequently flagged for investigation under the guise of compliance, slowing their transfer.
—Wale Ayeni, semafor.com, 14 July 2025
Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 4 Aug. 2021
In response, elites double down, weaponizing the claim of misinformation to legitimate the stifling of debate.
—Jacob Hale Russell, TIME, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legitimate
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.
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Adjective
That decision prompted a Title IX lawsuit filed by five volleyball players and the team’s head coach, alleging the school was disguising a club activity as a legitimate varsity sport to artificially inflate its female participation numbers.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 14 July 2025
Even legitimate payment flows from emerging markets are frequently flagged for investigation under the guise of compliance, slowing their transfer.
—Wale Ayeni, semafor.com, 14 July 2025
Verb
An offer from Washington to reduce tensions with the West will not succeed on its own; after all, Putin relies on such tensions to legitimate his iron political grip.
—Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 4 Aug. 2021
In response, elites double down, weaponizing the claim of misinformation to legitimate the stifling of debate.
—Jacob Hale Russell, TIME, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legitimate
Cite this Entry
“Legitimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legitimate. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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