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- parts of speech:
- adjective, transitive verb
- features:
- Word Combinations (adjective, verb), Word Parts
| part of speech: |
adjective |
| pronunciation: |
lih
jI
t
miht
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| definition 1: |
in accordance with the law or rules (used especially when the breaking of laws or rules is suspected).
Upon investigation, it was found that these were legitimate business dealings.He was shown to be the legitimate heir to the throne.- synonyms:
- lawful, legal, licit
- antonyms:
- illegal, illegitimate, illicit
- similar words:
- de jure, fair, right, rightful, true, valid
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| definition 2: |
valid, justified, or deserved.
She had to admit that it was a legitimate criticism.
- synonyms:
- fair, justified, valid, warranted, well-founded
- antonyms:
- ill-founded, unjustified, unwarranted
- similar words:
- genuine, true
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| definition 3: |
based on accepted standards or principles.
These are legitimate and widely used testing procedures.- synonyms:
- appropriate, correct, fitting, proper, seemly, suitable
- antonyms:
- illegitimate
- similar words:
- applicable, canonical, fair, natural, right
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| definition 4: |
born to married parents.
The king had two sons but neither was legitimate.- antonyms:
- illegitimate
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| definition 5: |
in accordance with the rules of logic; reasonable.
a legitimate inference- synonyms:
- believable, logical, rational, reasonable, sound, tenable, valid, well-founded
- antonyms:
- arbitrary, illegitimate
- similar words:
- cogent, coherent, credible, fair, plausible, right
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| related words: |
admissible, canonical, honest, righteous |
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| part of speech: |
transitive verb |
| pronunciation: |
l
jI
t
meIt
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| inflections: |
legitimates, legitimating, legitimated |
| definition: |
to legitimize, esp. to deem (a child born out of wedlock) to be legitimate.
- synonyms:
- legitimatize, legitimize
- antonyms:
- illegitimate
- similar words:
- acknowledge, name, recognize
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| derivations: |
legitimately (adv.), legitimateness (n.), legitimation (n.) |
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