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illegitimate
[ adjective noun il-i-jit-uh-mit; verb il-i-jit-uh-meyt ]
adjective
- born of parents who are not married to each other; born out of wedlock:
an illegitimate child.
- not legitimate; not sanctioned by law or custom.
- unlawful; illegal:
an illegitimate action.
- irregular; not in good usage.
- Logic. not in accordance with the principles of valid inference.
- Obsolete. (formerly, in London)
- of or relating to stage plays in which musical numbers were inserted because of laws that gave only a few theaters the exclusive right to produce straight dramas.
- acting in or producing such productions.
noun
- a person recognized or looked upon as illegitimate.
verb (used with object)
- to declare illegitimate.
illegitimate
/ ˌɪlɪˈdʒɪtɪmɪt /
adjective
- born of parents who were not married to each other at the time of birth; bastard
- forbidden by law; illegal; unlawful
- contrary to logic; incorrectly reasoned
noun
- an illegitimate person; bastard
Derived Forms
- ˌilleˈgitimately, adverb
- ˌilleˈgitimacy, noun
Other Words From
- ille·giti·mate·ly adverb
- ille·giti·mate·ness ille·giti·mation noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of illegitimate1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Anything they propose — whether it be policy, unity or accountability — is going to be viewed as illegitimate by a decent portion of Americans.
Some will dismiss my arguments as illegitimate simply because they come from the hated mainstream media.
By encouraging their followers to see their political opponents as illegitimate — and letting them follow that logic where it leads — Republicans have been flirting with this kind of anti-democratic behavior for years.
If we were to wake up tomorrow and decree that all NDAs are now defunct, companies would have both legitimate and illegitimate concerns.
Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, says such fears are “not entirely illegitimate” given reports of similar incidents in mainland China.
She was also an autodidact, an illegitimate girl from the provinces whose intelligence became the stuff of legend.
You should be so proud of yourself working for an illegitimate rag like the Daily Beast.
In 1483 the princes were publicly declared illegitimate by a cleric.
But a large majority also view the government in Kiev as illegitimate.
Britain is not illegitimate because it has a cross on its flag and an Anglican head of a state.
Estates sufficient to support the highest rank in the peerage were distributed among his illegitimate children.
To the class of mothers of illegitimate children the Commissioners devoted much attention.
We find it advising that the mothers of illegitimate children should, on this ground alone, not be granted outdoor relief.
The population tends slowly to increase; about 45% of the births are illegitimate, and males are more numerous than females.
Her baby, when born, is exposed as being illegitimate, but found by a goatherd and brought up—becoming the all but deified Atys.
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