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
Andreas Kluth, Mercury News, 28 June 2025
In response, elites double down, weaponizing the claim of misinformation to legitimate the stifling of debate.
—Jacob Hale Russell, TIME, 4 Mar. 2025
Alix Martichoux, The Hill, 11 Sep. 2025
The last few years this have seen this subcategory exchange its trendiness for a position as a legitimate niche market with the lower-tier of silly genre programmers.
—Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legitimate
Adjective
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
In response, elites double down, weaponizing the claim of misinformation to legitimate the stifling of debate.
—Jacob Hale Russell, TIME, 4 Mar. 2025
Verb
After a long process of validating legitimate claims and tossing out the ones that were fraudulent or duplicative, Angeion, the company in charge of distributing the payments, has finished its calculations determining how much each individual will get as payments go out starting this month.
—Alix Martichoux, The Hill, 11 Sep. 2025
The last few years this have seen this subcategory exchange its trendiness for a position as a legitimate niche market with the lower-tier of silly genre programmers.
—Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legitimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legitimate
Adjective
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Paxton’s legal problems include criminal charges related to securities fraud in 2015.—
Kimberly Ross,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
-
As the exclusive bargaining representative of NBA players, the NBPA licenses agents and thereby gives them the legal right to represent players in contract negotiations.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The university system became an important site for legitimizing claims through theories and studies.—
Sara Giordano,
The Conversation,
4 Sep. 2025
-
In an effort to legitimize the prior two phases, a scammer may impersonate an employee of the Federal Reserve or another agency.—
Jeremy Tanner,
The Hill,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
But even defensive gun uses that are ultimately ruled to be justifiable often result in legal consequences—investigations, charges, grand-jury proceedings, and sometimes trials.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
16 Sep. 2025
-
There is a justifiable public-health rationale for going after these shops.—
Nicholas Florko,
The Atlantic,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Almost 29 million claims were filed and about 18 million were validated as of September 2023, according to Meta’s response in a 2024 legal document.—
Auzinea Bacon,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
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Earlier this year, the Indian production giant partnered with Fashion for Good to launch Future Forward Factories India, an initiative that entails establishing an open-source blueprint of best-in-class technologies and a demonstration plant to validate environmental claims.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Driving records were last considered public and easily accessible from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation before July 1, 2023, or the start date of a law that granted immigrants without lawful proof of presence in the country a pathway to a license.—
Chris Van Buskirk,
Boston Herald,
16 Sep. 2025
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In many cases, the systems were deployed alongside lawful intercept platforms, which allow real-time surveillance of communications.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Leclerc wasn’t sanctioned because the available evidence on his leaving the track, rather than the contentious positioning, was inconclusive.—
Alex Kalinauckas,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
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The United Kingdom also sanctioned 30 individuals and companies, included businesses based in China and Turkey, that have supplied Russia with electronics, chemicals, explosives and other weapons components.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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
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At the same time, the Brotherhood discourages any worldly attachment that privileges one person over another person, or over God.—
Hannah Gold,
New Yorker,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Nonetheless, with policy in restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance.—
Adeola Adeosun
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
-
An accomplishment that warranted some kind of celebration, or at least some gesture of largesse.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Legitimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legitimate. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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