legitimate Hear it!

legitimate Definition

le·giti·mate (-mət; for v., -māt′)

adjective

  1. conceived or born of parents legally married to each other
    1. sanctioned by law or custom; lawful a legitimate claim
    2. conforming to or abiding by the law
  3. ruling by the rights of heredity a legitimate king
    1. reasonable; logically correct a legitimate inference
    2. justifiable or justified
  5. conforming to or in accordance with established rules, standards, principles
  6. Theater designating or of professionally produced stage plays, as distinguished from films, vaudeville, etc.

Etymology: ML legitimatus, pp. of legitimare, to make lawful < L legitimus, lawful < lex: see legal

transitive verb legitimated -·mat′ed, legitimating -·mat′·ing

legitimize (esp. sense )

Related Forms:

legitimate Synonyms

legitimate

modif.

  1. In accordance with legal provisions

    licit, legal, rightful, authorized; see lawful, legal 1.

  2. Logical

    reasonable, probable, consistent; see logical 1, understandable.

  3. Authentic

    verifiable, valid, reliable; see genuine 1, 2.

  4. Born of wedded parents

    accredited, received, accepted, authentic, genuine, certain, sure, true, recognized, sired in wedlock.

    Antonyms illegitimate*, bastard*, unrecognized. See syn. study at legal.legal.

legitimate Usage Examples

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • make: This was to make the piece legitimate in those jurisdictions which enforce a caliber floor for dangerous game.

Infinitive complement

  • ask: It's legitimate to ask at what point a search becomes meaningless.
  • consider: It would of course be legitimate to consider the patient's ability to cope with a treatment ( eg.
  • use: Is it legitimate to use the weapons of war to work for peace?

Modifies a noun

  • heir: In what sense can they be regarded as the legitimate heirs of the ancient Greeks?
  • expectation: Any change in the balance of taxation is, of course, a blow to legitimate expectations.
  • grievance: The report acknowledged that Japan had legitimate grievances against the Chinese Government.
  • aim: Their entry was disproportionate to the legitimate aim pursued.
  • concern: Some of these " buyers " raise legitimate concerns.
  • reason: Beside, there are legitimate reasons for viewing the same thread.

Modifying Another Word

  • perfectly: A perfectly legitimate election would have been possible, had the British not rigged the results.
  • democratically: What relationship do people have to these comittees - just how democratically legitimate are they?
  • morally: He said the bombing raids were neither legally or morally legitimate.
  • entirely: Such entirely legitimate opposition was literally whitewashed out of the event by BBC editorial controllers.
  • wholly: The hero's rise to riches thus, in retrospect, becomes wholly legitimate.
  • equally: These have been earthquakes in Turkey, Greece and Taiwan, Can we view them as equally legitimate in requesting support.

Used with adjective complement

  • seem: Plans seem legitimate should be excluded implemented tanf public policy see.
  • accept: Killing to make a political, social or religious point can never be accepted as legitimate.
  • become: The hero's rise to riches thus, in retrospect, becomes wholly legitimate.
  • see: One manager might be more lenient than another, but both responses could be seen as legitimate in the particular circumstances.