legitimate.

1. Allowed by law or recognized as properly authorized.

2. Based on reasons that deserve serious consideration.

3. Born to parents whose marriage was recognized under the relevant historical legal rules.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• legitimate authority
• legitimate business

On the page

The hearing examined whether the action had legitimate authority.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Comparative more legitimate; superlative most legitimate when comparison is meaningful. 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: analysis, evaluation, qualification. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: legitimates.