Legitimate

Quick meaning: Legitimate is an adjective meaning In accordance with the law or established legal forms and requirements.

Meaning

In accordance with the law or established legal forms and requirements.

More Meanings

1. Conforming to known principles, or established or accepted rules or standards; valid.
2. Authentic, real, genuine.
3. Marital.
4. Relating to hereditary rights.
5. Belonging or relating to the legitimate theater.
6. A person born to a legally married couple.
7. (transitive) To make legitimate, lawful, or valid; especially, to put in the position or state of a legitimate person before the law, by legal means.

Example Sentences

legitimate poems of Chaucer; legitimate inscriptions

legitimate reasoning; a legitimate standard or method

Tillotson still keeps his place as a legitimate English classic.

But should a “holy alliance of legitimates” extinguish it, it will be but for a season.

Word Forms

• legitimates
• legitimating
• legitimated

Synonyms for legitimate

Depending on context, synonyms include legitimize, lawful, legal, licit, rightful, legit.

Antonyms for legitimate

Common opposites include bastard, illegitimate, false, artificial, bad, bogus.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include lawful, legitimatize, legitimize, valid, legal, rightful.

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