legitimate 1 of 2

adjective

li-ˈji-tə-mət How to pronounce legitimate (audio)
Definition of legitimatenext
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

legitimate

2 of 2

verb

as in to legitimize

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How is the word legitimate different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of legitimate are lawful, legal, and licit. While all these words mean "being in accordance with law," legitimate may apply to a legal right or status but also, in extended use, to a right or status supported by tradition, custom, or accepted standards.

a perfectly legitimate question about taxes

When is it sensible to use lawful instead of legitimate?

The synonyms lawful and legitimate are sometimes interchangeable, but lawful may apply to conformity with law of any sort (such as natural, divine, common, or canon).

the lawful sovereign

When can legal be used instead of legitimate?

While in some cases nearly identical to legitimate, legal applies to what is sanctioned by law or in conformity with the law, especially as it is written or administered by the courts.

legal residents of the state

In what contexts can licit take the place of legitimate?

Although the words licit and legitimate have much in common, licit applies to a strict conformity to the provisions of the law and applies especially to what is regulated by law.

the licit use of drugs by doctors

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of 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
What to know about changes this bill would make and what rights legitimate service animals have. —Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 3 Oct. 2025 Now Vanderbilt has legitimate designs on participating in the tournament to crown a national champion. —Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for legitimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legitimate
  1. legal
  2. legitimize
  3. justifiable
  4. validate
  5. lawful
  6. sanction
  7. privilege
  8. warrant
Adjective
  • VPNs are legal to use across the United States but there are bans in place in some parts of the world.
    — Arpan Lobo, Freep.com, 4 Oct. 2025
  • The investigation began after revelations, first reported by the Herald/Times, that the DeSantis administration directed $10 million from a legal settlement with the Medicaid contractor Centene through the foundation for political purposes.
    — Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2025
Definition of legal
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
  • 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
Definition of legitimize
Adjective
  • 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
  • And unlike Snake Eater, the original isn’t easily accessible, making the endeavor much more justifiable.
    — George Yang, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2025
Definition of justifiable
Verb
  • The live experiments set the stage for validating computer models that predict how future fusion machines like ITER, the world’s biggest science collaboration in history, and the UK’s STEP prototype will behave under similar conditions.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2025
  • The Neiman’s collaborator is retiring its 2040 net-zero goal, which was established in June 2021 after its 30 percent reduction was validated by the SBTi the year before.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 2 Oct. 2025
Definition of validate
Adjective
  • Under military law, service members are obligated to obey lawful orders, but to disobey unlawful orders.
    — Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Some scholarship programs require a lawful immigration status.
    — Vanessa Delgado, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2025
Definition of lawful
Verb
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of sanction
Verb
  • 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
  • Both artists use these materials with precision, but Rama privileges their pathos.
    — Elizabeth Mangini, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2025
Definition of privilege
Verb
  • 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
  • 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
Definition of warrant

Browse Nearby Words

legitimacy
legitimate
legitimated
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Cite this Entry

“Legitimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legitimate. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

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Nglish: Translation of legitimate for Spanish Speakers

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