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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2
as in illegal
contrary to or forbidden by law
an illegitimate use of campaign contributions for personal expenses
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3
as in unreasonable
not using or following good reasoning
made several illegitimate inferences
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Examples of illegitimate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Israel would still likely regularly conduct attacks to suppress terrorism, which would put civilian lives at risk and leave Gaza’s putative government looking helpless and illegitimate.
—
Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 30 July 2024
If a phone call seems remotely illegitimate, the sheriff’s office asks residents to hang up and call the on-duty officer at 410-386-5900, who can confirm or deny the call’s legitimacy.
—Thomas Goodwin Smith, Baltimore Sun, 26 July 2024
But these illegitimate activities can still be tracked down, Chainalysis said.
—Sheila Chiang, CNBC, 16 July 2024
Each time a new character appeared onscreen, my grandfather supplied background information about illegitimate children, blackmail, matriarchal ploys.
—Ayşegül Savaş, The New Yorker, 14 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for illegitimate 
Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 30 July 2024
If a phone call seems remotely illegitimate, the sheriff’s office asks residents to hang up and call the on-duty officer at 410-386-5900, who can confirm or deny the call’s legitimacy.
—Thomas Goodwin Smith, Baltimore Sun, 26 July 2024
But these illegitimate activities can still be tracked down, Chainalysis said.
—Sheila Chiang, CNBC, 16 July 2024
Each time a new character appeared onscreen, my grandfather supplied background information about illegitimate children, blackmail, matriarchal ploys.
—Ayşegül Savaş, The New Yorker, 14 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for illegitimate
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'illegitimate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Illegitimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegitimate. Accessed 13 Sep. 2024.
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