Definition of illegitimatenext
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

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Example Sentences

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 illegitimate Rather than allay the concerns about her electability, Crockett has treated them as illegitimate and even racist. Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026 At the start of the season, Sophie — who was born out of an illegitimate relationship between her father, Lord Penwood, and her mother, his maid and mistress — is living with and working for Lady Araminta (Katie Leung), her father's widow. Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026 Apple Music introduced fraud penalties back in 2022, where along with demonetizing the illegitimate streams themselves, the company employed a sliding scale of fining fraudsters a fee calculated on what would’ve been royalties. Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 30 Jan. 2026 Noting her hesitancy, Benedict’s character in the book guesses that Sophie is illegitimate. Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 30 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for illegitimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegitimate
Adjective
  • Koren testified, on the basis of these spurious tests, that a toddler must have been ingesting substantial quantities of cocaine for about fourteen months.
    Ben Taub, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
  • The spurious designation of Qassem Soleimani as a global terrorist, something long requested by Benjamin Netanyahu, gave the green light for the expansion of the designation to other entities long held off from the moniker out of fear of its implications.
    Séamus Malekafzali, Washington Post, 8 Jan. 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
  • There are people who desire to drastically improve the health of our ecosystems who unknowingly struggle with unreasonable expectations.
    Chris McKeown, Cincinnati Enquirer, 14 Feb. 2026
  • Amid those pressures, many people turn to the comfort of a pet – but the expectations for what dogs can bring to our lives are becoming increasingly unreasonable.
    Margret Grebowicz, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Congress might then prohibit spending funds on such a misbegotten operation.
    Kevin Carroll, Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2026
  • The conclusion is clear: The Justice Department should drop its misbegotten prosecution of Powell and let the focus be on the real problem with the Federal Reserve—its false philosophy regarding inflation.
    Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • These new regulations impose the world’s fastest removal deadline, requiring platforms to take down unlawful synthetic media within three hours of notification.
    Munis Raza, Interesting Engineering, 20 Feb. 2026
  • On Wednesday, a coalition of health and environmental groups sued the EPA over the revocation, calling it unlawful and harmful.
    Dorany Pineda, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Those sorts of things are irrational to me.
    CBS News, CBS News, 15 Feb. 2026
  • Although atheism is often associated with hyperrationality, this form of it is unapologetically irrational.
    Christopher Beha, New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Social issue and character driven, events are steered by Swiss gold trader Hannah who, with her company teetering towards collapse, turns to illicit trading.
    John Hopewell, Variety, 18 Feb. 2026
  • Students subsequently signed a pledge promising to say no to illicit substances and study two hours per night, and engaged in a call-and-response chant with Jackson.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Bainbridge knew about secrets and unreasoning shame.
    Christopher Tayler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Let sound political prescience but take the place of an unreasoning prejudice, and this will be done.
    Frederick Douglass, The Atlantic, 16 Aug. 2017

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Cite this Entry

“Illegitimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegitimate. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.

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