as in lawfulness
the quality or state of being legal
the legitimacy of the military dictatorship was not recognized by most other nations
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Recent Examples of legitimacy
This is why Sabi built TRACE, a digital infrastructure designed for Africa’s producers, miners, and traders to prove legitimacy and meet global standards for transacting with the rest of the world.
—
Anu Adedoyin Adasolum, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2025
This week and their response to the win over the Chiefs will go a long way to confirming their legitimacy.
—Mike Jones, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
The moral legitimacy of a government comes from protecting the conditions under which the mind can function freely, not from trying to replace the mind as a creator of values.
—Agustina Vergara Cid, Oc Register, 11 Oct. 2025
Led by President Mahmoud Abbas, who succeeded Arafat upon his death two decades ago, the PA's legitimacy has been beset by accusations of corruption, lack of elections and growing violence by Israeli settlers and armed Palestinian factions.
—Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legitimacy
Anu Adedoyin Adasolum, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2025
This week and their response to the win over the Chiefs will go a long way to confirming their legitimacy.
—Mike Jones, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
The moral legitimacy of a government comes from protecting the conditions under which the mind can function freely, not from trying to replace the mind as a creator of values.
—Agustina Vergara Cid, Oc Register, 11 Oct. 2025
Led by President Mahmoud Abbas, who succeeded Arafat upon his death two decades ago, the PA's legitimacy has been beset by accusations of corruption, lack of elections and growing violence by Israeli settlers and armed Palestinian factions.
—Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legitimacy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legitimacy
Noun
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The administration now plans to seek a full review next term on the lawfulness of the executive order itself.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Aug. 2025
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The High Court of Justice in London dismissed claims from the Wikimedia Foundation, which challenged the lawfulness of the categorization system used to determine which sites must comply with obligations.—
Jon Brodkin,
ArsTechnica,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
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As the industry geared up to gather in Venice, the Senate Committee passed a draft law outlining a voluntary certification system for brands’ pipeline across all tiers of subcontracting, aimed at ensuring legality and traceability throughout, as reported.—
Martino Carrera,
Footwear News,
24 Oct. 2025
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Also being questioned are the legality of the strikes.—
Emily Goodin,
Miami Herald,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Legitimacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legitimacy. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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