as in authorizing
to make something real, accepted, or official
slang words legitimized by usage
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Recent Examples of legitimizing
The international community must act responsibly, avoid falling for false narratives and distorted information and refrain from legitimizing a biased and unprofessional report.
—
Beth Bailey, FOXNews.com, 22 Dec. 2025
Companies have been forced to navigate a complex environment in which continuing operations risks legitimizing the junta, while withdrawal raises fears of mass job losses in an already devastated economy.
—Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 22 Dec. 2025
Thus, peace in Ukraine will require a global effort to combat disinformation legitimizing Russia’s aggression and obscuring its war crimes.
—Valerie Morkevicius, The Conversation, 15 Dec. 2025
This refers to malicious actors impersonating a legitimate software package or extension to trick an unwitting coder—or now, an AI—into downloading a malicious one instead, usually by slightly tweaking the name and legitimizing it with fake reviews.
—Sage Lazzaro, Fortune, 15 Dec. 2025
Listening does not mean legitimizing hate.
—Kerry Kennedy, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025
The resolution could prove key to legitimizing a transitional governance body for Gaza and reassuring countries that are considering sending troops to the region.
—Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 18 Nov. 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
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
Beth Bailey, FOXNews.com, 22 Dec. 2025
Companies have been forced to navigate a complex environment in which continuing operations risks legitimizing the junta, while withdrawal raises fears of mass job losses in an already devastated economy.
—Mayu Saini, Sourcing Journal, 22 Dec. 2025
Thus, peace in Ukraine will require a global effort to combat disinformation legitimizing Russia’s aggression and obscuring its war crimes.
—Valerie Morkevicius, The Conversation, 15 Dec. 2025
This refers to malicious actors impersonating a legitimate software package or extension to trick an unwitting coder—or now, an AI—into downloading a malicious one instead, usually by slightly tweaking the name and legitimizing it with fake reviews.
—Sage Lazzaro, Fortune, 15 Dec. 2025
Listening does not mean legitimizing hate.
—Kerry Kennedy, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025
The resolution could prove key to legitimizing a transitional governance body for Gaza and reassuring countries that are considering sending troops to the region.
—Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 18 Nov. 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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legitimizing
Verb
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According to multiple sources inside and outside Venezuela, Cabello has effectively halted the prisoner release process by blocking the execution of court orders authorizing their freedom — a move that underscores the depth of the internal rupture.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
10 Jan. 2026
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The letter details other claims of favoritism and disregard for recent board directives to curb spending, like attempting to hire for vacant positions and authorizing overtime expenditures despite the hiring and overtime freeze enacted in the board approved fiscal solvency plan.—
Jennah Pendleton,
Sacbee.com,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The system comes preloaded with a vision–language–action (VLA) large model and more than 10,000 real-world data samples, enabling it to perform complex tasks without extensive setup or calibration.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Jan. 2026
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Each one grew up in a home that required her to curry favor with volatile and inconstant parents—a menacing father figure, a recessive and enabling mother—and each found a fragile safety in her caretakers’ occasional good will.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Students who are just learning foundational skills need to use tools such as generative AI as an adjunct, not a substitute, for generating ideas, validating information and crafting arguments.—
Larry Magid,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
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Analytics may identify where problems lie, but autonomous systems close the loop by executing and validating the work needed to solve them.—
Wyles Daniel,
USA Today,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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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.—
Scott Travis,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Jan. 2026
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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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Those choices included censuring and sanctioning me, a military veteran commissioned through CU Boulder, the only Black Regent, and the first Black woman to serve on the board in 43 years.—
Wanda James,
Denver Post,
13 Jan. 2026
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The sanctioning body did so for several reasons.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In theory, that would allow Glenn to lean on him for advice while also permitting him to focus his efforts elsewhere, like on offense and special teams.—
Zack Rosenblatt,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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Even with sufficient investor support, the project would still have to go through an extensive regulatory and permitting process that would undoubtedly receive pushback from environmental groups.—
Rob Nikolewski,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Legitimizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legitimizing. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.
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