legitimately
adverb
le·git·i·mate·ly
li-ˈji-tə-mət-lē 
: in a legitimate manner : according to what is lawful, permitted, appropriate, or reasonable
money earned legitimately [=legally]
a question that can be legitimately asked
… objects of ritual significance that were common tribal property seldom if ever could have come legitimately into nontribal hands.—
Robert McC. Adams
Robert McC. AdamsThe other kind of steroids are the potent inflammation fighters widely and legitimately used to treat dozens of illnesses.—Paul G. Donohue
Paul G. Donohue… several objections to their book can legitimately be raised.—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
Christopher Lehmann-HauptExamples of legitimately in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That didn’t stop Mims from getting legitimately mad Friday when he got tackled by John Franklin-Myers on the first play of 11-on-11 of practice.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 1 Aug. 2025
There’s a lot of justified confidence here, given that Maas is legitimately a phenomenon, but why so coy?
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 1 Aug. 2025
After being legitimately stranded in the United Kingdom for several days, Drew McIntyre has successfully returned to the United States.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025
While such a score could be viewed as a reasonable expectation for a starting QB, Coen was legitimately impressed Lawrence performed markedly better than John Wolford and Nick Mullens, who have longer histories in the scheme.
—Jeff Howe, New York Times, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for legitimately
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Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 1 Aug. 2025
There’s a lot of justified confidence here, given that Maas is legitimately a phenomenon, but why so coy?
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 1 Aug. 2025
After being legitimately stranded in the United Kingdom for several days, Drew McIntyre has successfully returned to the United States.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025
While such a score could be viewed as a reasonable expectation for a starting QB, Coen was legitimately impressed Lawrence performed markedly better than John Wolford and Nick Mullens, who have longer histories in the scheme.
—Jeff Howe, New York Times, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for legitimately
Cite this Entry
“Legitimately.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legitimately. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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