as in to enable
to make something real, accepted, or official
slang words legitimized by usage
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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 legitimize
The mayor himself will arrive this morning ahead of his afternoon one-on-one with Leo, the first American — and Chicago-born — pope, whose advocacy on immigrant rights and historic apology on Monday for the Holy See’s role in legitimizing slavery will be top of the list for Johnson to discuss.
—
Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2026
Strong suggests legitimizing and standardizing station tattoos, making a design readily available if deputies want to pay homage to their workplace, as other departments across the nation do.
—Sierra Van Der Brug, Daily News, 28 May 2026
Social integrity asks what AI legitimizes as knowledge and truth.
—Hamilton Mann, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
Being a member of a paramilitary group does not legitimize his murder, and soldiers and Ministry of Interior officers alike are now being killed in indiscriminate American and Israeli airstrikes.
—Nabil Salih, Time, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for legitimize
Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2026
Strong suggests legitimizing and standardizing station tattoos, making a design readily available if deputies want to pay homage to their workplace, as other departments across the nation do.
—Sierra Van Der Brug, Daily News, 28 May 2026
Social integrity asks what AI legitimizes as knowledge and truth.
—Hamilton Mann, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
Being a member of a paramilitary group does not legitimize his murder, and soldiers and Ministry of Interior officers alike are now being killed in indiscriminate American and Israeli airstrikes.
—Nabil Salih, Time, 26 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for legitimize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legitimize
Verb
-
If approved by voters this fall, the noncitizen voting measure would enable the council to pass an ordinance allowing noncitizen residents of Los Angeles to vote in citywide and Los Angeles Unified school board elections.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
-
The malware infected the Network Driver Interface, which streamlined communications between network protocol drivers enabling service such as TCP/IP network adapter drivers.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
The groups argued that the site of the garden runs afoul of federal laws and has not been authorized by Congress.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
17 June 2026
-
The administration has argued that the War Powers Resolution of 1973 — which says the president must remove armed forces from hostilities if Congress has not authorized the war — is unconstitutional.—
Caitlin Yilek,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
This is a critical milestone for validating the aircraft’s complex aerodynamics and flight control systems.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
17 June 2026
-
With the approach validated, the researchers were confident in saying their method can be applied widely to both individual meteors and larger events like meteor showers.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
Private institutions are entitled to set their own missions and follow their own values.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
16 June 2026
-
On that ground alone, he is entitled to a new trial.—
Kelsie Cairns,
FOXNews.com,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
The only path from bubble team to legitimate Stanley Cup contender requires making major upgrades at a faster rate than the stars’ decline.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
19 May 2026
-
American history either ignores or stereotypes Indigenous peoples for the purpose of legitimating the US.—
Tim Brinkhof,
JSTOR Daily,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
For the first time since joining international competition, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has qualified for the FIFA World Cup, marking a milestone achievement for the nation's soccer program and sparking celebrations among Jordanians around the world.—
Loureen Ayyoub,
CBS News,
17 June 2026
-
At this World Cup, Spain’s Nico Williams, Jeremy Doku of Belgium and Netherlands trio Memphis Depay, Cody Gakpo and Brian Brobbey all qualify to play for Ghana.—
Simon Hughes,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
The park said all guests must also pass through a weapons detection system at the front gate during the summer, and only bags 15 inches by 15 inches by 15 inches are permitted — with exceptions for medical and diaper bags.—
Jessica Mekles,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2026
-
Detmers permitted only one hit over seven innings.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Legitimize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legitimize. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
