as in authorizing
to make something real, accepted, or official
slang words legitimized by usage
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Recent Examples of legitimizing
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
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
The university system became an important site for legitimizing claims through theories and studies.
—Sara Giordano, The Conversation, 4 Sep. 2025
His goal was never a quick ceasefire but rather the gradual normalization of Russian territorial conquest through the legitimizing embrace of American diplomacy.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 16 Aug. 2025
Indeed, a huge part of the magazine’s legacy has been legitimizing Black design talent.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 4 Aug. 2025
Paul has advocated legitimizing DOGE’s cuts by putting them through Congress.
—Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 23 Mar. 2025
If only there were a person uniquely situated to bring these judges to heel and bring the crisis to a halt, thus re-legitimizing the judiciary in earnest.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2025
The government's involvement in legitimizing mealworm powder as a safe food source also serves as a concrete example of how regulations encourage manufacturers to incorporate them into mainstream products on the way to normalizing the consumption of insects.
—Oyku Ilgar, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 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
The university system became an important site for legitimizing claims through theories and studies.
—Sara Giordano, The Conversation, 4 Sep. 2025
His goal was never a quick ceasefire but rather the gradual normalization of Russian territorial conquest through the legitimizing embrace of American diplomacy.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 16 Aug. 2025
Indeed, a huge part of the magazine’s legacy has been legitimizing Black design talent.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 4 Aug. 2025
Paul has advocated legitimizing DOGE’s cuts by putting them through Congress.
—Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 23 Mar. 2025
If only there were a person uniquely situated to bring these judges to heel and bring the crisis to a halt, thus re-legitimizing the judiciary in earnest.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2025
The government's involvement in legitimizing mealworm powder as a safe food source also serves as a concrete example of how regulations encourage manufacturers to incorporate them into mainstream products on the way to normalizing the consumption of insects.
—Oyku Ilgar, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legitimizing
Verb
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The state legislation authorizing the referendum called for the establishment of a new authority to govern the Charlotte Area Transit System.—
Caitlin McGlade,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Nov. 2025
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Pinkerton said that insurers are also likely to require women who want to take the drug to try two marginally effective but less expensive drugs, Gabapentin and Effexor, before authorizing Lynkuet.—
Fran Kritz,
Verywell Health,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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And the corporation’s response to the row was feeble at best, enabling conservative critics to advance their long-running campaign against the broadcaster.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
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The breakthrough came when the researchers introduced a minute amount of ordinary salt at a critical stage in the process, which triggered the metal to wrap around the template instead of spreading out, enabling the formation of stable nanotube shells.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
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But the mandates also help colleges shovel heaps of bureaucratic muck—validating data for accreditation, carrying out enrollment, flagging troubled students, aggregating metrics of all kinds.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
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Still, Colbert didn’t shy from validating those who tied the cancellation to political pressure.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The complaint alleges Johnson failed to disclose restricted stock units entitling him to 330,000 shares in his January 2024 bankruptcy petition.—
Zach Everson,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The sanctioning body’s comprehensive net income was more than $537 million in 2023 — which included a major land sale — and $103 million in 2024.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Nov. 2025
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Yet, the jury criminalized one set of transactions while sanctioning the other, without any meaningful legal standard to distinguish between them.—
Jim Saunders,
Miami Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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City officials are completing permitting and logistical details with San Diego Gas & Electric to install 750 to 800 charging portals at 59 locations — 20 library branches and 39 pools or recreation centers.—
Noah Lyons,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Nov. 2025
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The filing comes days after Spotify was accused in another class action lawsuit of permitting massive amounts of streaming fraud on its platform, which siphons royalties from artists whose numbers aren’t artificially inflated.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Legitimizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legitimizing. Accessed 21 Nov. 2025.
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