Definitions for legitimate
lɪˈdʒɪt ə mɪt; -ˌmeɪtle·git·i·mate

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 2 votes

1. legitimateadjective

   of marriages and offspring; recognized as lawful

2. legitimate, logicaladjective

   based on known statements or events or conditions

   "rain was a logical expectation, given the time of year"

3. legitimateadjective

   in accordance with recognized or accepted standards or principles

   "legitimate advertising practices"

4. lawful, legitimate, licitverb

   authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law

   "a legitimate government"

5. legalize, legalise, decriminalize, decriminalise, legitimize, legitimise, legitimate, legitimatize, legitimatiseverb

   make legal

   "Marijuana should be legalized"

6. legitimateverb

   show or affirm to be just and legitimate

7. legitimateverb

   make (an illegitimate child) legitimate; declare the legitimacy of (someone)

   "They legitimized their natural child"

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. LEGITIMATEadjective

   Born in marriage; lawfully begotten.

   Etymology: from legitimus, Lat. legitime, French.

   Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land;
   Our father’s love is to the bastard Edmund. William Shakespeare.

   An adulterous person is tied to make provision for the children begotten in unlawful embraces, that they may do no injury to the legitimate, by receiving a common portion. Jeremy Taylor, Rule of Holy Living.

2. To Legitimateverb

   Etymology: legitimer, Fr. from the adjective.

   1. To procure to any the rights of legitimate birth.

   Legitimate him that was a bastard. John Ayliffe, Parergon.

   2. To make lawful.

   It would be impossible for any enterprize to be lawful, if that which should legitimate it is subsequent to it, and can have no influence to make it good or bad. Decay of Piety.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. legitimate

   Legitimate is defined as being in compliance with the law or accepted standards or rules, or conforming to recognized principles or accepted rules and standards. It refers to something or someone that is legal, rightful, valid, or genuine. Legitimate can be used in various contexts such as law, business, and casual settings, referring to authority, power, actions, births, transactions, etc.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 3 votes

1. Legitimateadjective

   accordant with law or with established legal forms and requirements; lawful; as, legitimate government; legitimate rights; the legitimate succession to the throne; a legitimate proceeding of an officer; a legitimate heir

2. Legitimateadjective

   lawfully begotten; born in wedlock

3. Legitimateadjective

   authorized; real; genuine; not false, counterfeit, or spurious; as, legitimate poems of Chaucer; legitimate inscriptions

4. Legitimateadjective

   conforming to known principles, or accepted rules; as, legitimate reasoning; a legitimate standard, or method; a legitimate combination of colors

5. Legitimateadjective

   following by logical sequence; reasonable; as, a legitimate result; a legitimate inference

6. Legitimateverb

   to make legitimate, lawful, or valid; esp., to put in the position or state of a legitimate person before the law, by legal means; as, to legitimate a bastard child

7. Etymology: [LL. legitimatus, p. p. of legitimare to legitimate, fr. L. legitimus legitimate. See Legal.]

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Legitimate

   le-jit′i-māt, adj. lawful: lawfully begotten, born in wedlock: fairly deduced: following by natural sequence: authorised by usage.—v.t. to make lawful: to give the rights of a legitimate child to an illegitimate one.—n. Legit′imacy, state of being legitimate: lawfulness of birth: regular deduction: directness of descent as affecting the royal succession.—adv. Legit′imately.—ns. Legit′imateness, lawfulness; Legitimā′tion, act of rendering legitimate, esp. of conferring the privileges of lawful birth.—v.t. Legit′imise (same as Legitimate).—n. Legit′imist, one who supports legitimate authority: in France, a follower of the elder Bourbon line (descendants of Louis XIV.), as opposed to the Orleanists or supporters of the descendants of the Duke of Orleans, Louis XIV.'s brother.—Legitimate drama, a designation frequently applied to the representation of Shakespeare's plays—often employed as vaguely indicating approval of the drama of some former time. [Low L. legitimāre. -ātum—L. legitimus, lawful—lex, law.]

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. legitimate

   In accordance with the relevant legislation.

   The fuel costs for the business are legitimate.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on March 8, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Change
   • Justify

British National Corpus

1. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'legitimate' in Adjectives Frequency: #752

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

1. 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How to pronounce legitimate?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say legitimate in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of legitimate in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of legitimate in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of legitimate in a Sentence

1. James Thurber:

   She can't recuse herself [if she becomes president], whether it influences her decision making is questionable, but it is a legitimate thing to focus on by her political opposition.

2. Tony Sayegh:

   I like a lot of these programs and am willing to give them creative license, but when they try and take a legitimate political message being used in real time like ‘ make America great again ’ -- which incidentally is working -- and vilify it by connecting it to terrorism, they defy even the most generous level of objectivity.

3. President Barack Obama:

   The question is just: is there a way of accommodating that legitimate set of traditions with some common-sense stuff that prevents a 21-year-old who is angry about something or confused about something or is racist or is deranged from going into a gun store.

4. Lindsey Graham:

   To my Israeli friends, I understand you have a problem in Syria, I’ve been one of your biggest champions, but what I hope the world will do is speak with one voice that Putin is a war criminal, he’s no longer a legitimate leader, and it’s time for us to get him gone, it would be better to have a Russian leader that wouldn’t marry up with Iran and Syria to begin with. This is the best chance in 20 years to take this guy out. The Russian people are the vehicle to do it.

5. Matt Duss:

   It's part of a broader effort to limit the political space, to squeeze out opposing views, it has very negative connotations. It creates a hostile environment for those who express legitimate criticism and would put Israel in some very bad company.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=legitimate
2. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=legitimate
3. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
4. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legitimate
5. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=legitimate
6. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=legitimate