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legitimate - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'legitimate' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Legitimate [ a.]
- 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.
- Lawfully begotten; born in wedlock.
- Authorized; real; genuine; not false, counterfeit, or spurious; as, legitimate poems of Chaucer; legitimate inscriptions.
- Conforming to known principles, or accepted rules; as, legitimate reasoning; a legitimate standard, or method; a legitimate combination of colors.
- Following by logical sequence; reasonable; as, a legitimate result; a legitimate inference.
2 . Legitimate [ v. t.]
- 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.

Meaning of 'legitimate' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . legitimate [ v]
Meaning (1):
- make legal
Example in sentence:
  • Marijuana should be legalized
Meaning (2):
- make (an illegitimate child) legitimate; declare the legitimacy of (someone)
Example in sentence:
  • They legitimized their natural child
3 . legitimate [ s]
Meaning (3):
- authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law
Example in sentence:
  • a legitimate government
Meaning (4):
- in accordance with recognized or accepted standards or principles
Example in sentence:
  • legitimate advertising practices
Meaning (5):
- based on known statements or events or conditions
Example in sentence:
  • rain was a logical expectation, given the time of year

Nearby Words:

leg legacies legacy legal legalism legalist legality legalization legalize legalized

See 'legitimate' also in:

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