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
Her father also burdened her with looking after his illegitimate son Cy (Daryl McCormack), a wannabe GOP star who will spout any rhetoric to get ahead.
—
Esther Zuckerman, Time, 8 Sep. 2025
Dumas’ injunction states that any decisions made in meetings with Weatherington claiming the chair seat are illegitimate.
—Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2025
Putin asked, reiterating a common Russian argument that their country sees the Ukrainian leader as illegitimate.
—Tara Suter, The Hill, 4 Sep. 2025
What the rest of the MacKenzies don’t know, however, is that Ellen, in the midst of her grief, has fallen head over heels for Brian, the illegitimate son of the despicable Lord Lovat (Tony Curran) and a member of a rival clan.
—Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illegitimate
Esther Zuckerman, Time, 8 Sep. 2025
Dumas’ injunction states that any decisions made in meetings with Weatherington claiming the chair seat are illegitimate.
—Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2025
Putin asked, reiterating a common Russian argument that their country sees the Ukrainian leader as illegitimate.
—Tara Suter, The Hill, 4 Sep. 2025
What the rest of the MacKenzies don’t know, however, is that Ellen, in the midst of her grief, has fallen head over heels for Brian, the illegitimate son of the despicable Lord Lovat (Tony Curran) and a member of a rival clan.
—Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illegitimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegitimate
Adjective
-
The report, as expected based on its authors, raised a large series of spurious doubts about climate science, which led to a massive critique of the report by other climate scientists.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
19 Sep. 2025
-
The most negative and spurious viral videos are the ones that are leading to the most views for advertisers.—
John Brandon,
Forbes.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
Republicans argue that Democrats are making unreasonable demands on a stopgap bill that historically has served as a narrow, short-term bridge.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Vice President Vance, meanwhile, accused Democrats of making unreasonable demands.—
The Hill staff,
The Hill,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
It was directed by Pollack, Redford’s creative partner on seven films starting with This Property Is Condemned and stretching through 1990’s misbegotten Havana, a riff on Casablanca with Redford in the Bogart role.—
Matt Zoller Seitz,
Vulture,
17 Sep. 2025
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Because the Sunbeam Alpine and Tiger are essentially identical, save for their engines and some unibody sheet metal beneath the exterior body panels, there exist many misbegotten conversions as well as some quite deceptive clones.—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
African telecom companies are often at the mercy of government agencies that order the shutdowns, but pressure from the international community could increase accountability and compel the companies to deny unlawful or arbitrary shutdown orders, the researchers argued.—
Alexander Onukwue,
semafor.com,
29 Sep. 2025
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Oregon is calling for the court to declare Hegseth's order unlawful and to enjoin the federalization of troops, as well as permanently enjoin the defense secretary and the Pentagon from calling upon Oregon National Guard members for federal service.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Consciousness, human life, utterly in the grip of its own dreamlife, all our thinking and voicing caught in a web of surreal distortion, generated by our irrational yearning and apprehensions, our appetite for myth, our solipsism.—
Jane Ciabattari
September 25,
Literary Hub,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Still, Williams is quick to defend the character’s seemingly irrational actions, reminding us how Rain’s past experiences inform her present-day motivations.—
Andy Swift,
TVLine,
20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Hanson garnered a reputation as a great team player, an all-around hustler, and someone with valuable connections to illicit drugs that would help players through pain.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
26 Sep. 2025
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The genre grew through messaging apps like Telegram and illicit networks like el paquete — the packet — a system where content is shared weekly via flash drives.—
Ana González Vilá,
Rolling Stone,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
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 2 Oct. 2025.
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