illegitimacy.

1. A lack of justified or rightful standing under relevant norms.

2. The status of being regarded as born outside a legally recognized marriage under a particular historical or legal system.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• illegitimacy of authority
• alleged illegitimacy

On the page

The alleged illegitimacy of the authority was separate from its practical control.

The argument for illegitimacy depended on the stated procedural norm.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: explicit explanation, scope and categorization, proof and interpretation, philosophical foundations. Disciplines: academic writing, formal reasoning, philosophy. Commonness: moderately common.