Legitimate
adjective
Allowed according to rules or laws.
He was making a legitimate complaint about the service.
Often appears as...
- legitimate question
- legitimate interest
adjective
Fair or reasonable.
He felt he had a legitimate excuse for the mistake.
Often appears as...
- legitimate expression
- legitimate demand
verb
To make something legal or accepted.
The government legitimated the rights of indigenous communities to their lands.
Often appears as...
- legitimate authority
- legitimate claim
Usage tips
Formal
Legal
adjective
Married parents, parents not married to anyone else.
He was a legitimate child of the marriage.
Usage tips
Formal
adjective
Allowed according to rules or laws.
He was making a legitimate complaint about the service.
Often appears as...
- legitimate question
- legitimate interest
adjective
Fair or reasonable.
He felt he had a legitimate excuse for the mistake.
Often appears as...
- legitimate expression
- legitimate demand
verb
To make something legal or accepted.
The government legitimated the rights of indigenous communities to their lands.
Often appears as...
- legitimate authority
- legitimate claim
Usage tips
Formal
Legal
adjective
Married parents, parents not married to anyone else.
He was a legitimate child of the marriage.
Usage tips
Formal
Definition 1 of 4
Pro Tip 1/2Rule Compliance
Use 'legitimate' when something specifically follows the rules or laws in place.
Selling drinks on the street corner was a legitimate operation with a permit.
Pro Tip 2/2Official Approval
Implies that an action or entity has gained official acceptance or approval.
Their business was considered legitimate after receiving the license.
Pro Tip 1/2Rule Compliance
Use 'legitimate' when something specifically follows the rules or laws in place.
Selling drinks on the street corner was a legitimate operation with a permit.
Pro Tip 2/2Official Approval
Implies that an action or entity has gained official acceptance or approval.
Their business was considered legitimate after receiving the license.
Pro Tip 1/2Rule Compliance
Use 'legitimate' when something specifically follows the rules or laws in place.
Selling drinks on the street corner was a legitimate operation with a permit.
Pro Tip 2/2Official Approval
Implies that an action or entity has gained official acceptance or approval.
Their business was considered legitimate after receiving the license.
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Video examples
How to spot a pyramid...
Promises of large, life-altering amounts of income are also suspect. And finally, a legitimate multi-level marketing business shouldn’t require members to pay for the opportunity to sell a product or service. Pyramid schemes can be incredibly destructive to individuals,
Video examples
Julian Assange: Why the...
and then defend ourselves against the inevitable legal and political attacks. So you make an effort to ensure the documents are legitimate, but you actually almost never know who the identity of the source is? That's right, yeah. Very rarely do we ever know,
Video examples
Nationalism vs....
between the different sides here, because I think everyone can agree that the start point of a lot of the anger that's propelled us to where we are is because of the legitimate concerns about job loss. Work is gone, a traditional way of life has gone,
Video examples
The game that can give...
And these voices became so persistent and so persuasive that I started to legitimately fear for my life, which is the time that I said to myself after 34 days -- and I will never forget this moment -- I said, "I am either going to kill myself
Video examples
The Lost Kingdom of...
River as well but the fact we are standing on a pyramid here in northern Sudan built by people whose descendants may still live around us now I have a feeling that that gives them some sort of historical more legitimate claim to
Video examples
How the mysterious dark...
There are now between two and three million daily users of the Tor browser, the majority of which use is perfectly legitimate, sometimes even mundane. And there are hundreds of activists around the world
Video examples
Peter van Uhm: Why I...
It is this legitimate, controlled use of the gun that has contributed greatly to reducing the statistics of war, conflict and violence around the globe. It is this participation in peacekeeping missions
Video examples
Building bridges and...
the developing world there are two hits the first seemed far too legitimate to respond to a twenty-something student but the other was this guy in Virginia a retired developer turned philanthropist
Video examples
Richard Ledgett: The NSA...
He absolutely did have alternative ways that he could have gone, and I actually think that characterizing him as a whistleblower actually hurts legitimate whistleblowing activities.
Video examples
Meet a Competitive...
the way that I'll see it is you know I got a few more kids to throw and out of trouble you know like I legitimately felt my own personality and myself fading into like
Video examples
How to spot a pyramid...
Promises of large, life-altering amounts of income are also suspect. And finally, a legitimate multi-level marketing business shouldn’t require members to pay for the opportunity to sell a product or service. Pyramid schemes can be incredibly destructive to individuals,
Video examples
Julian Assange: Why the...
and then defend ourselves against the inevitable legal and political attacks. So you make an effort to ensure the documents are legitimate, but you actually almost never know who the identity of the source is? That's right, yeah. Very rarely do we ever know,
Video examples
Nationalism vs....
between the different sides here, because I think everyone can agree that the start point of a lot of the anger that's propelled us to where we are is because of the legitimate concerns about job loss. Work is gone, a traditional way of life has gone,
Video examples
The game that can give...
And these voices became so persistent and so persuasive that I started to legitimately fear for my life, which is the time that I said to myself after 34 days -- and I will never forget this moment -- I said, "I am either going to kill myself
Video examples
The Lost Kingdom of...
River as well but the fact we are standing on a pyramid here in northern Sudan built by people whose descendants may still live around us now I have a feeling that that gives them some sort of historical more legitimate claim to
Video examples
How the mysterious dark...
There are now between two and three million daily users of the Tor browser, the majority of which use is perfectly legitimate, sometimes even mundane. And there are hundreds of activists around the world
Video examples
Peter van Uhm: Why I...
It is this legitimate, controlled use of the gun that has contributed greatly to reducing the statistics of war, conflict and violence around the globe. It is this participation in peacekeeping missions
Video examples
Building bridges and...
the developing world there are two hits the first seemed far too legitimate to respond to a twenty-something student but the other was this guy in Virginia a retired developer turned philanthropist
Video examples
Richard Ledgett: The NSA...
He absolutely did have alternative ways that he could have gone, and I actually think that characterizing him as a whistleblower actually hurts legitimate whistleblowing activities.
Video examples
Meet a Competitive...
the way that I'll see it is you know I got a few more kids to throw and out of trouble you know like I legitimately felt my own personality and myself fading into like
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Yolanda Hadid
American Model
It's sad that people forget sometimes that there is a whole legitimate world of artists and actors out there that work their entire life, every day on perfecting their craft, but yet don't get any acknowledgement for their extraordinary commitment to their profession.
Quote examples
Hans Zimmer
German Musician
When movies first came out, maybe they were in black and white and there wasn't any sound and people were saying the theater is still the place to be. But now movies and theater have found their own place in the world. They are each legitimate art forms.
Quote examples
Quentin Tarantino
American Director
Australian genre films were a lot of fun because they were legitimate genre movies. They were real genre films, and they dealt, in a way like the Italians did, with the excess of genre, and that has been an influence on me.
Quote examples
Hanya Yanagihara
American Novelist
The nice thing about publishing later in life is that you already know who you are. You don't have to hang out with the 'Paris Review' crowd to try to make yourself feel like a legitimate writer.
Quote examples
Felipe VI of Spain
Spanish Royalty
Sincere and generous collaboration is the best way to fulfil the legitimate aspirations of each person and achieve great collective goals for the common good and the general interest.
Quote examples
George Washington Carver
American Scientist
No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind him distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it.
Quote examples
Gijs de Vries
Dutch Politician
The violent radicals do not legitimately represent the overwhelming majority of the world's Muslims.
Quote examples
Issa Rae
American Actress
People are willing to support and watch web series as a legitimate form of entertainment.
Quote examples
William Hartnell
English Actor
But I'm not, I'm legitimate, I'm a legitimate character actor of the theatre and film.
Quote examples
Paul Harding
American Author
I was just delighted to be a legitimate, for-real published author.
Quote examples
Yolanda Hadid
American Model
It's sad that people forget sometimes that there is a whole legitimate world of artists and actors out there that work their entire life, every day on perfecting their craft, but yet don't get any acknowledgement for their extraordinary commitment to their profession.
Quote examples
Hans Zimmer
German Musician
When movies first came out, maybe they were in black and white and there wasn't any sound and people were saying the theater is still the place to be. But now movies and theater have found their own place in the world. They are each legitimate art forms.
Quote examples
Quentin Tarantino
American Director
Australian genre films were a lot of fun because they were legitimate genre movies. They were real genre films, and they dealt, in a way like the Italians did, with the excess of genre, and that has been an influence on me.
Quote examples
Hanya Yanagihara
American Novelist
The nice thing about publishing later in life is that you already know who you are. You don't have to hang out with the 'Paris Review' crowd to try to make yourself feel like a legitimate writer.
Quote examples
Felipe VI of Spain
Spanish Royalty
Sincere and generous collaboration is the best way to fulfil the legitimate aspirations of each person and achieve great collective goals for the common good and the general interest.
Quote examples
George Washington Carver
American Scientist
No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind him distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it.
Quote examples
Gijs de Vries
Dutch Politician
The violent radicals do not legitimately represent the overwhelming majority of the world's Muslims.
Quote examples
Issa Rae
American Actress
People are willing to support and watch web series as a legitimate form of entertainment.
Quote examples
William Hartnell
English Actor
But I'm not, I'm legitimate, I'm a legitimate character actor of the theatre and film.
Quote examples
Paul Harding
American Author
I was just delighted to be a legitimate, for-real published author.
Example 1 of 10
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