1
as in spurious
born to a father and mother who are not married
despite being illegitimate, Alexander Hamilton rose to greatness
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in illegal
contrary to or forbidden by law
an illegitimate use of campaign contributions for personal expenses
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in unreasonable
not using or following good reasoning
made several illegitimate inferences
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illegitimate
The only one that can be called truly illegitimate by global and historical standards is the claim to the whole of the South China Sea.
—
Anatol Lieven, Twin Cities, 10 Apr. 2026
Parker, with the bank’s fraud department, asked Schroeder about several legitimate transactions and one illegitimate one.
—Justin Wingerter, Denver Post, 6 Apr. 2026
Outside the courthouse in Manhattan, small groups of supporters have denounced the trial as illegitimate.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2026
Beatdapp, a firm specializing in streaming fraud detection, estimates fraudulent music streams generate approximately $2 billion in diverted, illegitimate royalties every year.
—Kyle Eustice, VIBE.com, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for illegitimate
Anatol Lieven, Twin Cities, 10 Apr. 2026
Parker, with the bank’s fraud department, asked Schroeder about several legitimate transactions and one illegitimate one.
—Justin Wingerter, Denver Post, 6 Apr. 2026
Outside the courthouse in Manhattan, small groups of supporters have denounced the trial as illegitimate.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2026
Beatdapp, a firm specializing in streaming fraud detection, estimates fraudulent music streams generate approximately $2 billion in diverted, illegitimate royalties every year.
—Kyle Eustice, VIBE.com, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for illegitimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegitimate
Adjective
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But further examples of spurious medical grounds being raised led to him not racing that year at the RAC Tourist Trophy in Dundrod, Northern Ireland, and the 1956 Italian Grand Prix.—
Alex Kalinauckas,
New York Times,
8 May 2026
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These efforts apparently relied on a mix of sock-puppet accounts across social media platforms, which promoted the spurious claims of vilifying websites.—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Louisville police say anything that goes into the air or explodes is illegal for average citizens.—
James Bruggers,
The Courier-Journal,
5 July 2017
-
Official fireworks shows took place over the city, and illegal pyrotechnics lit up the sky everywhere in between.—
Lisa Beebe,
Los Angeles Magazine,
5 July 2017
Adjective
-
Sterling failed to live up to unreasonable expectations created by his huge contract, which quickly became a millstone.—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
The construction strikes many locals as both unreasonable and unstoppable.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
Adjective
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Then there was the misbegotten, no-bid $140 million contract for medical services between the state Department of Corrections and UConn Health.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Into this narrow social wedge was born a boy, child of a passionate but misbegotten moment.—
Gail Sheehy,
Vanity Fair,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The 27-year-old founder of a Sikh motorcycle club that prosecutors say was linked to the notorious Hells Angels has been sentenced for illegally dealing in firearms and unlawful possession of a machine gun.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
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The Justice Department has repeatedly argued that the information sought in the subpoenas is needed to investigate possible fraud or unlawful off-label promotion of drugs.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 May 2026
Adjective
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His deep dive into the genre left him with some pet peeves, not least the irrational or simply implausible behavior of many horror-movie protagonists.—
Alex Barasch,
New Yorker,
11 May 2026
-
Evans and his backers were rational actors inside an irrational system.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
1 May 2026
Adjective
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And while the medical community rejected the compounds, today’s illicit drug manufacturers have revived nitazenes in a far more concentrated and hazardous form.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
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Reporters crowded around Scott, asking him about Becerra and whether the candidate knew about the illicit arrangement.—
Dakota Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
Adjective
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Bainbridge knew about secrets and unreasoning shame.—
Christopher Tayler,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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Let sound political prescience but take the place of an unreasoning prejudice, and this will be done.—
Frederick Douglass,
The Atlantic,
16 Aug. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Illegitimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegitimate. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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