legitimately
adverb
le·git·i·mate·ly
li-ˈji-tə-mət-lē 
: in a legitimate manner : according to what is lawful, permitted, appropriate, or reasonable
money earned legitimately [=legally]
a question that can be legitimately asked
… objects of ritual significance that were common tribal property seldom if ever could have come legitimately into nontribal hands.—
Robert McC. Adams
Robert McC. AdamsThe other kind of steroids are the potent inflammation fighters widely and legitimately used to treat dozens of illnesses.—Paul G. Donohue
Paul G. Donohue… several objections to their book can legitimately be raised.—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
Christopher Lehmann-HauptExamples of legitimately in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This might legitimately spark a national renaissance for West Coast music.
—Shaheem Reid, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 May 2024
Full of legitimately funny, or maybe, just shocking moments when Drake calls Kendrick’s pro-Blackness a sham and Kendrick calls Drake a degenerate deadbeat.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 6 May 2024
Again, all this is just research, and for all of it to work well starting this spring would be a legitimately unheard-of technical achievement.
—David Pierce, The Verge, 5 May 2024
There’s no doubt there's also some people legitimately protesting Israeli policy.
—ABC News, 5 May 2024
Advertisement Election skepticism is real The poll found that 26% of the adults surveyed do not believe Biden won the presidency legitimately in 2020.
—Defne Karabatur, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2024
Such reports are legitimately alarming but with further context might also be moot; although the ability to do so has recently been limited, for a long time, China (or anyone else for that matter) could purchase such personal information from data brokers.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2024
The opening credits are legitimately inventive, maybe the best part of the film, although in the climax each Kiss member fights his own evil clone (which is a fine allegory for those solo albums).
—Stephen Deusner, SPIN, 23 Apr. 2024
In the case of a student threatening to physically harm someone, whether it is spoken, written or gestured, the Arizona Department of Education encourages schools to have a threat assessment protocol and build a team to determine whether the student legitimately poses a threat of violence.
—The Arizona Republic, 22 Apr. 2024
Shaheem Reid, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 May 2024
Full of legitimately funny, or maybe, just shocking moments when Drake calls Kendrick’s pro-Blackness a sham and Kendrick calls Drake a degenerate deadbeat.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 6 May 2024
Again, all this is just research, and for all of it to work well starting this spring would be a legitimately unheard-of technical achievement.
—David Pierce, The Verge, 5 May 2024
There’s no doubt there's also some people legitimately protesting Israeli policy.
—ABC News, 5 May 2024
Advertisement Election skepticism is real The poll found that 26% of the adults surveyed do not believe Biden won the presidency legitimately in 2020.
—Defne Karabatur, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2024
Such reports are legitimately alarming but with further context might also be moot; although the ability to do so has recently been limited, for a long time, China (or anyone else for that matter) could purchase such personal information from data brokers.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2024
The opening credits are legitimately inventive, maybe the best part of the film, although in the climax each Kiss member fights his own evil clone (which is a fine allegory for those solo albums).
—Stephen Deusner, SPIN, 23 Apr. 2024
In the case of a student threatening to physically harm someone, whether it is spoken, written or gestured, the Arizona Department of Education encourages schools to have a threat assessment protocol and build a team to determine whether the student legitimately poses a threat of violence.
—The Arizona Republic, 22 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'legitimately.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near legitimately
Cite this Entry
“Legitimately.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legitimately. Accessed 12 May. 2024.
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