legitimate

legitimate — adjective

1. Something that is legitimate is officially allowed or recognized under the legal

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

Something that is legitimate is officially allowed or recognized under the legal system of a country.

Example

Hari's company proved that its claim to the land was legitimate by showing the original contract.

common pattern: prove + that-clause with legitimate

Constanza asked the hospital's legal team to confirm that her overtime pay was a legitimate right under her contract.

collocation: legitimate right

Common collocations
  • legitimate right
  • legitimate claim
  • legitimate business
  • legitimate government
  • legitimate interests
Synonyms
  • lawful

    more direct and technical term for 'permitted by law'; legitimate often also implies moral acceptability beyond bare legality

  • legal

    more general and common than legitimate; any action that does not break the law is legal

  • authorised

    suggests official permission from a specific authority rather than the whole legal system

Antonyms
  • illegal

    direct opposite; what the law forbids

  • unlawful

    more formal synonym of illegal

Usage Note

Often used with nouns such as right, claim, business, government, or document to indicate official legal status.

Common Mistakes

He has a legal right to the property, but it's not legitimate.
He has a legal right to the property, and it's fully legitimate.
'legal' and 'legitimate' overlap in this sense; 'legitimate' emphasises formal recognition by the legal system.

2. A legitimate reason, feeling, or aim is one that is fair, just, and makes sense

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

A legitimate reason, feeling, or aim is one that is fair, just, and makes sense according to widely accepted standards.

Example

Eitan had a legitimate concern about the safety of the new playground equipment.

collocation: legitimate concern

Femi missed the morning lecture because his grandmother was hospitalised, and the professor accepted his excuse as legitimate.

collocation: legitimate excuse with specific reason

Common collocations
  • legitimate concern
  • legitimate question
  • legitimate reason
  • legitimate excuse
  • legitimate complaint
  • legitimate goal
Synonyms
  • justifiable

    stronger than legitimate, suggesting clear evidence or argument supports the action

  • valid

    focuses on logical soundness rather than moral fairness

  • reasonable

    more everyday word; legitimate carries a slightly more formal tone

Antonyms

Usage Note

Common with nouns like concern, question, reason, complaint, excuse, goal, or objective. Use this sense when no legal framework is involved — the judgement is about fairness and common sense, not law.

Common Mistakes

He had a legal complaint about the noise.' (when you mean it's reasonable).
He had a legitimate complaint about the noise.
'legal' means 'permitted by law,' while 'legitimate' here means 'fair and understandable.'

3. Used to describe a child whose parents were in a legal marriage with each other

3.adjectiveB2
Definition

Used to describe a child whose parents were in a legal marriage with each other when the birth happened.

Example

Mr. Watanabe's death sparked an inheritance dispute over whether his eldest son was a legitimate heir.

concrete scenario: inheritance dispute, legitimate heir

Under Japan's old civil code, only legitimate heirs like Taro could inherit the estate, while his half-brother Kenji received nothing.

collocation: legitimate heir with concrete inheritance scenario

Common collocations
  • legitimate child
  • legitimate heir
  • legitimate birth
  • legitimate offspring
Synonyms
  • born in wedlock

    the equivalent everyday phrase; 'legitimate' is more formal and legal

Antonyms

Usage Note

Distinguish from adjective sense 1 (LAWFUL): this sense applies only to a person's birth status. In modern law, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children has been abolished in many jurisdictions, but the terms still appear in historical or legal contexts.

Common Mistakes

They had a legitimate marriage.' (for sense 3).
Their child was legitimate under the law.
this sense describes the child's birth status, not the marriage itself.

legitimate — verb

Word family

  • legitimately
    adverbB2
  • legitimacy
    nounC1
  • legitimise
    verbC1
  • legitimize
    verbC1
  • legitimation
    nounC1
  • illegitimate
    adjectiveB2
  • illegitimately
    adverbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe something that follows rules or laws, but they differ in scope and tone. 'Legal' is the broadest and most everyday term — anything that does not break a law is legal, whether parking in a marked space or signing a contract. 'Lawful' is more formal and often implies moral or ethical correctness in addition to technical legality, appearing frequently in religious or philosophical contexts ('a lawful marriage'). 'Legitimate' goes further than bare legality, carrying the nuance of being properly recognised, justified, or in line with accepted standards — a business can be legal but still feel illegitimate to customers if it uses shady practices. 'Licit' is a rare, formal term almost entirely restricted to legal writing or discussions of trade and drugs (e.g., 'licit and illicit substances'). For everyday usage, 'legal' and 'legitimate' are the two main choices: use 'legal' when the law alone decides, and 'legitimate' when social acceptance or proper recognition also matters.

lawful ↗legal ↗legitimate ↗licit

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • legitimately
  • perfectly legitimate
  • entirely legitimate
  • quite legitimate
  • perfectly legal

Phrases

  • by legitimate means
  • through legitimate channels
  • in a legitimate way

Etymology

LatinEnglish

The word 'legitimate' comes from Latin 'legitimus,' meaning 'lawful,' which is built on 'lex' (meaning 'law'). In medieval Latin, the verb 'legitimare' developed the sense of 'to make lawful or official,' especially regarding the legal status of children. The word entered English in the 15th century, first as an adjective describing lawful birth and later broadening to cover anything authorised or justified by law or by general standards of fairness.