1
as in spurious
born to a father and mother who are not married
despite being illegitimate, Alexander Hamilton rose to greatness
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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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illegitimate
Even with policies such as unlimited paid time off, singles may hesitate to take vacations, fearing that their managers will see their reasons for taking time off as illegitimate.
—
Peter McGraw, The Conversation, 6 Mar. 2026
Crime abhors a vacuum, and in Tommy’s absence, the Peaky Blinders gang has reformed under the aegis of his sociopathic illegitimate son Duke (Barry Keoghan).
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 5 Mar. 2026
As Sophie Baek, the illegitimate daughter of an earl who comes to work for the Bridgerton family, Ha’s wardrobe is often limited to a maid uniform.
—Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 3 Mar. 2026
After a whole season exploring the pains of being an illegitimate child and fears of pregnancy, Sophie and Benedict are now free to have children that would be welcomed warmly into society.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for illegitimate
Peter McGraw, The Conversation, 6 Mar. 2026
Crime abhors a vacuum, and in Tommy’s absence, the Peaky Blinders gang has reformed under the aegis of his sociopathic illegitimate son Duke (Barry Keoghan).
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 5 Mar. 2026
As Sophie Baek, the illegitimate daughter of an earl who comes to work for the Bridgerton family, Ha’s wardrobe is often limited to a maid uniform.
—Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 3 Mar. 2026
After a whole season exploring the pains of being an illegitimate child and fears of pregnancy, Sophie and Benedict are now free to have children that would be welcomed warmly into society.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for illegitimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegitimate
Adjective
-
Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 80-year-old former leader, is serving a 27-year prison term on charges widely viewed as spurious and politically motivated.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Using that spurious justification, ICE agents have detained, assaulted, and even — in the case of Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Pretti — killed people for recording.—
Andrew Case,
New York Daily News,
7 Mar. 2026
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
-
Both Jaynes and Meany were accused by the Justice Department of aiding and abetting the deprivation of Taylor's Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.—
Sarah N. Lynch,
CBS News,
20 Mar. 2026
-
When patients have few to no symptoms, a kidney biopsy seems like an expensive and unreasonable ask.—
Charles Schmidt,
Scientific American,
17 Mar. 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
-
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, seeks reinstatement and a court declaration that the terminations were unlawful.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 Mar. 2026
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The acquisition would give Nexstar control of 228 broadcast stations reaching 80% of television households in 132 local markets and increase concentration in more than a dozen local markets by more than 10 times the amount that is presumptively unlawful under the antitrust laws.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Though the process of how it is utilized can be debated, having emergency stocks of a vital resource subject to supply crises can hardly be called irrational.—
Scott L. Montgomery,
The Conversation,
23 Mar. 2026
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My greatest irrational fear was that the machine might squeeze far tighter than necessary and I’d just be stuck there in immense pain until someone unplugged the cord.—
Zachary Bernstein,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The medical examiner also determined the drug was illicit (as opposed to medical-grade) and ingested orally.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
18 Mar. 2026
-
The smugglers let him aboard, and the boy clambered around hatches that, if opened, would reveal dozens of felonies worth of illicit cargo.—
Jack Crosbie,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
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 26 Mar. 2026.
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