as in legal
permitted by law
the mistrust created among investors by the financial scandal has hurt even companies engaged in wholly legitimate business practices
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to legitimize
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of legitimate
Amira El-Fekki, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 July 2025
The only domestic organ that could have legitimated the strike is Congress, but it wasn’t even given the chance.
—Andreas Kluth, Mercury News, 28 June 2025
Tamia Fowlkes, jsonline.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Be wary of urgent or last-minute changes, as legitimate partners rarely switch payment details without warning.
—Collyn Wainwright, Nashville Tennessean, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legitimate
Adjective
Now, the political and operational initiative — with the right to legitimate defense — is held by the party that both knows how to play it smart and avoids indiscriminate fire.
—Amira El-Fekki, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 July 2025
The only domestic organ that could have legitimated the strike is Congress, but it wasn’t even given the chance.
—Andreas Kluth, Mercury News, 28 June 2025
Verb
Tip for protecting yourself from scams Ask yourself if the information being presented seems legitimate.
—Tamia Fowlkes, jsonline.com, 9 Oct. 2025
Be wary of urgent or last-minute changes, as legitimate partners rarely switch payment details without warning.
—Collyn Wainwright, Nashville Tennessean, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legitimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legitimate
Adjective
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As part of a legal settlement, Solvay agreed to pay more than $393 million and to clean up contamination.—
Sharon Lerner,
ProPublica,
10 Oct. 2025
-
This year has been nothing short of horrific for our country’s Latine population, thanks to the current administration’s anti-immigration legislation and numerous, often-violent ICE raids, resulting in mass deportations and detainment (sometimes among legal residents and citizens).—
Sofía Viera,
Allure,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Also are Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, two former stars whose twin 13-year, $98 million signings in July 2012 helped legitimize the franchise.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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This use of terror designations does more than merely aim to legitimize military buildup and action to the south of the United States.—
Alexander Langlois,
Oc Register,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Speaking of the penalty the Ferrari driver was handed, F1's governing body, the FIA, stated that Hamilton's argument of going off track to manage his brake failure situation was not justifiable.—
Saajan Jogia,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
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And unlike Snake Eater, the original isn’t easily accessible, making the endeavor much more justifiable.—
George Yang,
Rolling Stone,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Chatbots are known to validate users’ obsessions and delusions, and most of the litigation around this phenomenon has so far pertained to self-harm, as in the suits Jain has brought against OpenAI and Character Technologies.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
11 Oct. 2025
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And his comments validated what Grier and even Wilson routinely said, which is that Plattner is in regular communication with his top decision-makers.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Palestinians are fully entitled to secure their fundamental right of self-determination, and all States remain obliged, more than ever, to assist them in their lawful & legitimate cause.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Oct. 2025
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Washington law requires all peace officers in the state have their immigration status verified and must be American citizens, lawful permanent residents or beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA.—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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What To Know The Harris poll found that nearly three-quarters of Republicans (73 percent) supported arming Ukraine and sanctioning Russia, which was marginally higher than the 72 percent of Democrats who agreed with these measures.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
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On September 29, a coalition of 50 professional athletes, including former Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech and Crystal Palace midfielder Cheick Doucoure, signed a letter calling on UEFA to suspend Israel from its competitions, following the UN’s own call for Israel to be sanctioned.—
Philip Buckingham,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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But the methods themselves privilege human-like skills.—
Jonny Thomson,
Big Think,
8 Oct. 2025
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And the dialogue would happen on platforms that goad each of us into being the worst versions of ourselves; that prioritize in-group performance over listening; that reward outrage and outrageousness; that collapse context; that exist to privilege conflict over resolution.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Of the 75-plus children in monitoring, five have progressed to hyperglycemia, warranting clinical care, and none of these children developed DKA.—
Rachel Nuwer,
Scientific American,
14 Oct. 2025
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Strong winds are occurring but are not so strong as to warrant a High wind warning.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Legitimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legitimate. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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