as in authorizing
to make something real, accepted, or official
slang words legitimized by usage
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Recent Examples of legitimizing
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
Its historic proximity to success is a legitimizing anchor for the movement.
—
Katie Thornton,
Harpers Magazine,
26 May 2026
Institutions that once prided themselves on filtering out this kind of rhetoric are now legitimizing it.
—
Alma Hernandez,
New York Daily News,
1 May 2026
Critics caution the pope against allowing the government to exploit his presence, warning his visit risks legitimizing the regime’s abuses while offering only symbolic appeals for peace.
—
Nicole Winfield,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
There is a difference in legitimizing a person’s agenda versus finding common ground.
—
Torie Bosch,
STAT,
11 Apr. 2026
Others contend that legitimizing him erodes Democratic credibility on antisemitism and other issues, handing Republicans ammunition heading into the midterms.
—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
What hurts the Cuban people is legitimizing it.
—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
17 Mar. 2026
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
Its historic proximity to success is a legitimizing anchor for the movement.
—
Katie Thornton,
Harpers Magazine,
26 May 2026
Institutions that once prided themselves on filtering out this kind of rhetoric are now legitimizing it.
—
Alma Hernandez,
New York Daily News,
1 May 2026
Critics caution the pope against allowing the government to exploit his presence, warning his visit risks legitimizing the regime’s abuses while offering only symbolic appeals for peace.
—
Nicole Winfield,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
There is a difference in legitimizing a person’s agenda versus finding common ground.
—
Torie Bosch,
STAT,
11 Apr. 2026
Others contend that legitimizing him erodes Democratic credibility on antisemitism and other issues, handing Republicans ammunition heading into the midterms.
—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
What hurts the Cuban people is legitimizing it.
—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
17 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legitimizing
Verb
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The buyer—identified in the document as Sunrise North LLC—gets an irrevocable power of attorney authorizing it to pursue claims in the athlete’s name, settle claims, amend claim forms and take other actions related to recovery.
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The case for purchasing the property was already losing momentum before Fisher raised Kimco’s position at the County Commission meeting held Tuesday solely to consider authorizing a $100 million bid.
Verb
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Ultrasound can also reach deeper into the brain than any other non-invasive technology, enabling it to target important deep brain structures.
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Under the Biden administration, the Department of Health and Human Services amended this rule, enabling kidney and liver transplants from HIV-positive donors to take place outside of research.
Verb
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The lawyer of the future may increasingly resemble an architect, physician, or strategic advisor whose value lies not in generating work product but in validating, interpreting, and applying expertise.
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Rather than pursuing maximum standoff distances, the effort focused on validating target discrimination, environmental stability, and detection precision from mobile maritime platform, according to a press release.
Verb
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The ruling gave hijras official status as a minority community, entitling them to various forms of government assistance.
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The superintendent, general counsel and chief auditor qualify for the supplements due to provisions in their contracts entitling them to the same increases as other administrative staff, officials said.
Verb
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Big 12 administrators also met to consider sanctioning Texas Tech or Sorsby.
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The Oklahoma attorney general’s letter rejected the idea that the Big 12 sanctioning Texas Tech would represent antitrust violations.
Verb
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Expanding conventional nuclear capacity requires long permitting cycles, complex financing and fuel supply chains that are often unreliably global.
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Scotto highlighted that Kinetik has purpose-built its system for sour gas handling, giving it an edge over new competitors that may face permitting delays of at least three years to build acid gas injection wells.
Cite this Entry
“Legitimizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legitimizing. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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