as in illegitimacy
the state or fact of being born out of wedlock
back in the days when the bar sinister was a real obstacle to social acceptance
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for bar sinister
illegitimacy
Noun
-
An air of illegitimacy, particularly in the face of febrile nationalism, will undermine the new rulers.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
4 Jan. 2026 -
Instead, events appear to lie in political opportunism in the wake of an election marred by flaws and allegations of illegitimacy.—
John Joseph Chin,
The Conversation,
1 Dec. 2025
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“Bar sinister.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bar%20sinister. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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