as in spuriousness
the state or fact of being born out of wedlock she had learned of her illegitimacy while rummaging through old family records in the attic

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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. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of illegitimacy Nan’s illegitimacy became a big subject of conversation last season when the news leaked out ahead of her engagement to Theo. Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 18 June 2025 The power of the Grand Secretariat and the illegitimacy of dissent were hallmarks of imperial rule. Frank Lavin, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025 From this perspective, the familiar elements of the Nativity—the stable, the shepherds, the Magi—were not meant to paper over the embarrassment at Jesus’ illegitimacy. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2025 But doing so would give Yoon the best chance of upending the entrenched narrative of colonial-authoritarian illegitimacy that has prevented South Korea and Japan from settling their disputes over the past for so long. Eun A Jo, Foreign Affairs, 23 Nov. 2022 See All Example Sentences for illegitimacy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegitimacy
bastardy
Noun
  • Baseness, bastardy, base They are also reflected in the game’s popularity, especially among those with the most detached view of America: the millions of immigrants who have arrived over baseball’s history.
    The Economist, The Economist, 8 June 2019
  • Johanna Luthman, a historian at the University of North Georgia, has worked for years to understand the practice and repercussions of fornication, adultery and bastardy among the early 17th-century English aristocracy.
    Richard Davenport-Hines, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2017

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Cite this Entry

“Illegitimacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegitimacy. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

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