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
Natalie was skeptical at first, but her husband, Robert Brennan, assured her of Marie's legitimacy.
—
Janelle Griffith, PEOPLE, 16 Apr. 2026
This lands inside a broader legitimacy collapse that elite universities have spent years engineering for themselves.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2026
The process of actually determining a claim’s legitimacy is a bit more involved than that, however.
—Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 16 Apr. 2026
Consumer safety experts also flagged packaging issues, including spelling errors, as additional red flags about product legitimacy.
—Meghan Schiller, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for legitimacy
Janelle Griffith, PEOPLE, 16 Apr. 2026
This lands inside a broader legitimacy collapse that elite universities have spent years engineering for themselves.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 16 Apr. 2026
The process of actually determining a claim’s legitimacy is a bit more involved than that, however.
—Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 16 Apr. 2026
Consumer safety experts also flagged packaging issues, including spelling errors, as additional red flags about product legitimacy.
—Meghan Schiller, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for legitimacy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legitimacy
Noun
-
Had the former Wolverines coach and prosecutors failed to negotiate a plea deal and gone to trial, Moore’s attorneys were expected to attack the admissibility of evidence and the lawfulness of a search warrant.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
14 Apr. 2026
-
The petitions are not contesting removal orders, only the lawfulness of detaining the noncitizen plaintiffs during those proceedings.—
Tasha Carvell,
Twin Cities,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Work on the entire project can now continue until at least early June, with oral arguments over its legality slated for June 5.—
Zach LaChance,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Apr. 2026
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Custom, in this sense, is established if a practice at sea is seen as consistent and is backed by wide agreement over its legality.—
Elizabeth Mendenhall,
Fortune,
15 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Legitimacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legitimacy. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
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