as in authorizing
to make something real, accepted, or official
slang words legitimized by usage
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Recent Examples of legitimizing
The university system became an important site for legitimizing claims through theories and studies.
—
Sara Giordano, The Conversation, 4 Sep. 2025
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
Sara Giordano, The Conversation, 4 Sep. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for legitimizing
Verb
-
The final draft Rule nonetheless included a section authorizing pretrial depositions by the government, which the Supreme Court rejected in its entirety without comment.—
Robert Anello,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
The House is set to vote on an amendment that would repeal two laws authorizing the use of military force (AUMF) in Iraq after three members of the House Freedom Caucus broke with Republican leaders in the House Rules Committee on Tuesday.—
Emily Brooks,
The Hill,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The assembly occurs in parallel, enabling multiple devices to be fabricated on a single chip in one step, by simplifying production and preserving the performance benefits of 2D materials.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Sep. 2025
-
If using a smartphone, NOAA recommends enabling night mode, disabling flash and relying on a tripod to stabilize the image.—
Ty Roush,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Simulating tournament conditions, benchmarking under pressure and validating stability over extended sessions ensure that the systems deliver consistency, not just peak performance.—
Ivan Terzi,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
-
AeroVironment’s advanced systems integrated quickly with the MQ-9A Reaper, validating the compatibility and robustness of the technology.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Sep. 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 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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Democratic lawmakers in California approved a sweeping slate of climate and environmental bills Saturday – a package that would double-down on climate commitments like cap-and-trade and high speed rail, while also permitting additional oil drilling in the state.—
Kate Wolffe,
Sacbee.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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True support for working parents means more than permitting remote work.—
Liz Teran,
Fortune,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Legitimizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/legitimizing. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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