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

The other kind of steroids are the potent inflammation fighters widely and legitimately used to treat dozens of illnesses.

—Paul G. Donohue

… several objections to their book can legitimately be raised.

—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt

Examples of legitimately in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At a minimum, some of the egregious true-up costs could be eliminated and better terms negotiated for when the city legitimately needs to take meters out of commission for the benefit of Chicagoans. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026

The publisher has strongly denied the allegations and is defending the claims, maintaining that its reporting was sourced legitimately. —Erin Hill, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026

There may be young people who are legitimately occupying those seats. —Judith Martin, Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2026

Oh, sure, there will be cases where a plaintiff will legitimately need some discovery to make their case, but the courts should view these requests with a critical eye. —Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 19 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined above