as in authorizing
to make something real, accepted, or official
slang words legitimized by usage
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Recent Examples of legitimizing
Extending military honors to Babbitt goes a step further, critics argue, by legitimizing the actions of the rioters and blurring the line between service to the country and an assault on democratic institutions.
—
Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 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
All that was missing was a grand unifying theory — a vocabulary to give voice to these intense cultural frustrations and draw a legitimizing connection between them and the Constitution.
—Mattathias Schwartz, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2025
The Globetrotters, however, won the 1940 tournament, further legitimizing their standard.
—James Jackson, The Athletic, 10 Feb. 2025
Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 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
All that was missing was a grand unifying theory — a vocabulary to give voice to these intense cultural frustrations and draw a legitimizing connection between them and the Constitution.
—Mattathias Schwartz, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2025
The Globetrotters, however, won the 1940 tournament, further legitimizing their standard.
—James Jackson, The Athletic, 10 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legitimizing
Verb
-
In May, the West Memphis City Council unanimously approved two ordinances authorizing a $10 billion payment-in-lieu of taxes agreement between the city and an unnamed company.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The judge wound up authorizing his release from custody, so Epstein was alone in his cell from then until his death.—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Additionally, the Nevo A06’s roof houses a lidar system, complemented by three millimeter-wave radars, 12 ultrasonic sensors, and 11 cameras, enabling level 2 advanced driving assistance features.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Sep. 2025
-
However, these responses did not follow, enabling the Taliban to continue and do so with impunity.—
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Never switch platforms without first validating them through a POC that includes hypothesis testing.—
Samuel Darwin,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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The group also tested their method against an existing dataset from Brazilian researchers who used Raspberry Pi devices, further validating its accuracy.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The entities sued the motorsport sanctioning body after declining to sign the charter agreement that NASCAR made available to teams to sign in September.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Sep. 2025
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In reality, the first scenario does not exist and the guarantees that would underpin the second are impossible to give, meaning sanctioning a sale at this stage in the window, at any price, would represent a sporting gamble that could be risky at best, reckless at worst.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Around that time, The StrEatery, a restaurant located in the Beechmont neighborhood, opened a pop-up shelter for individuals in need, but it was ordered to close due to permitting violations, The Courier Journal reported.—
Killian Baarlaer,
The Courier-Journal,
3 Sep. 2025
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Utilities, limited by permitting timelines, supply chain issues, and workforce shortages, rarely meet that urgency.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Legitimizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legitimizing. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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