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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of legitimate
Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Oct. 2025
Fraudsters are good at creating websites that appear legitimate.
—Barbara White, Kansas City Star, 30 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for legitimate
Adjective
During training camp, Blue emerged as a legitimate option in the running back room and was even earning first-team reps as early as the second week in pads in Oxnard.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Oct. 2025
Fraudsters are good at creating websites that appear legitimate.
—Barbara White, Kansas City Star, 30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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
See All Example Sentences for legitimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legitimate
Adjective
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Barton’s story bears a striking resemblance to the narrative outlined in Corcoran’s legal claim and suggests the franchise was enjoying demonstrable success at a time that could be critical to determining if and how much she is owed.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
31 Oct. 2025
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For most of modern American history, the only legal place to bet was Nevada, and that was seldom, if ever, the place cheaters chose to place their bets.—
David Hill,
Rolling Stone,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Critics from across the political spectrum, including prominent Jewish leaders, condemned the discussion as legitimizing antisemitic and racist rhetoric.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
-
To legitimize its war, China would try to point to provocations by Taipei and Washington—which is why the no-deadline pledge would incentivize them to refrain from acts that Beijing could hold up as compelling casus belli.—
STEPHEN WERTHEIM,
Foreign Affairs,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The Republican administration favors Second Amendment rights, but government attorneys argued that this ban is a justifiable restriction.—
Boston Herald Wire Services,
Boston Herald,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Stand your ground laws and their complicated history Most stand your ground laws center around justifiable uses of force, according to Cynthia Godsoe, a professor of criminal law at Brooklyn Law School.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Every bolt, every line of code, every system had to be validated and tested carefully, or the shuttle would never leave the launchpad.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
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Among other benefits of cloud-native technologies, engineers can quickly validate product designs in real-world conditions, while CAE developers receive rapid feedback to optimize performance.—
Ni Tao,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will consider whether those tariffs are lawful and allowed to stand.—
Alexandra Hutzler,
ABC News,
3 Nov. 2025
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For lawful immigrants, premium subsidies will also end in 2026.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Now in her 90s, Riddick recalled the early days of the Pumpkin Roll, when the event wasn't officially sanctioned by the city and someone at the bottom of Midland Road would tell people by radio whether there was oncoming traffic on Kavanaugh or not.—
Daniel McFadin,
Arkansas Online,
3 Nov. 2025
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In March 2026, Chamley-Watson will launch the first-ever Miles Chamley-Watson Cup as a youth competition in Atlantic City sanctioned by USA Fencing and aiming to inspire the next generation of fencers.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Nov. 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
-
Some of the speculation was warranted.—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
5 Nov. 2025
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The new advisory follows recent testing in eastern Kennebec and western Waldo counties, which showed that deer and turkey sampled from areas near contaminated soil had PFAS concentrations in muscle tissue high enough to warrant a public health warning.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Legitimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legitimate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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