legitimate

Adjective

legitimate (comparative more legitimate, superlative most legitimate)

1. In accordance with the law or established legal forms and requirements.
   • Rodwell was sent off by referee Martin Atkinson - who has shown 15 red cards since the start of last season - after 23 minutes for what appeared to be a legitimate challenge on Suarez.2011 October 1, Phil McNulty, “Everton 0 - 2 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport
   • According to the tweet, the encounter began with "a traffic stop for unlawful speed." If so, then the initial stop was legitimate, but in and of itself that wouldn't be probable cause to search the car. It does give an officer the right to look inside, and if contraband is in plain view, that would...2020 February 5, Kevin Underhill, “Bag Marked "Bag Full of Drugs" Allegedly Full of Drugs”, in Lowering the Bar, archived from the original on 16 Dec 2022

   Synonyms:

   lawful, legal, de jure, licit, rightful

   Antonyms:

   illegitimate

2. Conforming to known principles, or established or accepted rules or standards; valid.
   • legitimate reasoning; a legitimate standard or method
   • Tillotson still keeps his place as a legitimate English classic.1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   legit, licit, acceptable, allowable, leveful, permissible, rightful, rulable, true, valid

3. Authentic, real, genuine.
   • legitimate poems of Chaucer; legitimate inscriptions
   • The truth is, when we fail to protect legitimate rights of others and continue to expand the net of lies and defamation, every one would become victims one day including ourselves.2020 December 20, Wen Sirui, “The Danger of One Voice from Mainstream Media”, in Minghui

   Synonyms:

   bona fide, pukka, actual, authentic, genuine, legit, lubish, non-fake, real, sterling

   Antonyms:

   illegitimate, false, artificial, bad, bogus, bollocks, concocted, counterfeit, ersatz, fabricated

4. Lawfully begotten, i.e. born to a married couple or later legitimated.

   Synonyms:

   rightful

   Antonyms:

   illegitimate

5. Legally married.
   • Besides his four legitimate wives, the caliph had dozens of concubines.

   Synonyms:

   rightful

6. Relating to hereditary rights.
7. Belonging or relating to the legitimate theater.

Noun

legitimate (plural legitimates)

1. A person born to a legally married couple.
   • But should a “holy alliance of legitimates” extinguish it, it will be but for a season.1831, Alexander Scott Withers, Chronicles of Border Warfare
   • This extraordinarily mixed family of legitimates and illegitimates seems to have maintained a certain kind of harmony.1898, Sydney George Fisher, The True Benjamin Franklin

Verb

IPA/lɪˈd͡ʒɪt.ɪ.meɪt/

legitimate (third-person singular simple present legitimates, present participle legitimating, simple past and past participle legitimated)

1. (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.

   Synonyms:

   legitimize