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
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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
-
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
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Gods have been especially helpful in this task of corralling the manual labor of the people and legitimizing it symbolically.—
Vanessa Taylor,
Big Think,
25 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
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Under military law, service members are obligated to obey lawful orders, but to disobey unlawful orders.—
Ellie Cook,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
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Some scholarship programs require a lawful immigration status.—
Vanessa Delgado,
The Conversation,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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There are a thousand or so sanctioned rodeos every year around the country—the pro kind can offer million-dollar purses—but there are also many more smaller rodeos held every week on family ranches, 4-H fairgrounds, or tribal land.—
Casey Cep,
New Yorker,
6 Oct. 2025
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An undercover operation in 2022 revealed that Komarczyk and his associate, Irazmar Carbajal, agreed to move $100,000 of what the FBI believed to be sanctioned money belonging to members of Venezuela’s government.—
Rachel Wolf,
FOXNews.com,
4 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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In this current era of chintzy CGI gore, a bit of longing for Tom Savini's practical special effects is warranted.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Oct. 2025
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Luis Gil continued to pitch poorly, proving the questions around why the Yankees started him in the first place were warranted.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Legitimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legitimate. Accessed 12 Oct. 2025.
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