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
To treat government expenditures as illegitimate is to deny that governments, just like businesses and consumers, are participants in real-world markets.
—
James Broughel, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
In January 2024, the work was sold to Geffen, seemingly on Sun’s behalf — Sun now says the sale was illegitimate.
—Rachel Corbett, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2025
They get snared into helping their private investigator friend Moby (Hung) track down kidnappers intent on capturing a young woman named Sylvia (Lola Forner), who turns out to be the illegitimate daughter of a Spanish count.
—ArsTechnica, 7 Apr. 2025
This helps ensure that customer trust isn’t eroded by the deleterious impact of misinformation disseminated by illegitimate word of mouth.
—Branden Abushanab, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illegitimate
James Broughel, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
In January 2024, the work was sold to Geffen, seemingly on Sun’s behalf — Sun now says the sale was illegitimate.
—Rachel Corbett, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2025
They get snared into helping their private investigator friend Moby (Hung) track down kidnappers intent on capturing a young woman named Sylvia (Lola Forner), who turns out to be the illegitimate daughter of a Spanish count.
—ArsTechnica, 7 Apr. 2025
This helps ensure that customer trust isn’t eroded by the deleterious impact of misinformation disseminated by illegitimate word of mouth.
—Branden Abushanab, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illegitimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegitimate
Adjective
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Congress could also impose penalties for spurious contract award disputes, which have become commonplace as a business strategy, as such disputes open the possibility that losing companies can compete again for the contract.—
MICHAEL BROWN,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Apr. 2025
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He’s been bad-mouthing wind power for over a decade, often relying on similarly spurious claims.—
Benji Jones,
Vox,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Louisville police say anything that goes into the air or explodes is illegal for average citizens.—
James Bruggers,
The Courier-Journal,
5 July 2017
Adjective
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Courts will not second-guess the safety measures employers adopt, even when those measures infringe on an employee’s privacy, unless the measures are unreasonable under the circumstances.—
Dan Eaton,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Apr. 2025
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Companies need to assess their higher costs, and then negotiate with the state regulators who try to protect ratepayers from unreasonable hikes.—
Camila Domonoske,
NPR,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The federal government itself also has a near-monopoly on the market for economically ruinous student loans—the very loans that are themselves disproportionately responsible for abetting the modern four-year college's misbegotten status as a necessary rite of passage to achieve the American dream.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Apr. 2025
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The logic of the intelligence cutoff is straightforward, if misbegotten.—
The Editors,
National Review,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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That month, Drummond sued the board directly in the Oklahoma Supreme Court and asked it to rescind the charter contract and declare St. Isidore's establishment as a charter school unlawful.—
Melissa Quinn,
CBS News,
29 Apr. 2025
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Of note: Your Content must not be false, defamatory, misleading or hateful, or infringe any copyright or any other third-party rights or otherwise be unlawful.—
Catherine Pearson,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Judge orders transgender passports despite 'irrational' Trump policy.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
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And then there’s the emotional, irrational lift of gilt and glory, the baroque architecture, the Renaissance art, the history stretching back to Jesus and Saint Peter.—
Howard Chua-Eoan,
Mercury News,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The proximity, combined with the abundance of recreational boats, makes illicit travel hard to detect, Brown explained.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2025
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Drug overdoses have plagued California, as fentanyl — a synthetic opioid 100 times more potent than heroin — is often mixed in with other illicit street drugs.—
Lia Russell,
Sacbee.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The Amazon founder was previously married to Mackenzie Scott from 1993 to 2019, and the couple share three sons and an adopted daughter.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
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His adopted daughter, Sandra Correia Lopes, 12, weighs just 12 kilograms, or 26 pounds, and falls sick frequently.—
Sui-Lee Wee,
New York Times,
16 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Illegitimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegitimate. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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