legitimate adjective - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of legitimate adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

legitimate

adjective
 
/lɪˈdʒɪtɪmət/
 
/lɪˈdʒɪtɪmət/
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  1. for which there is a fair and acceptable reason synonym valid, justifiable
    • a legitimate grievance
    • It seemed a perfectly legitimate question.
    • Politicians are legitimate targets for satire.
    Extra Examples
    • Parents' concerns about the disease are quite legitimate.
    • People have a legitimate expectation that their politicians should be honest.
    • The court ruled that celebrities' children were not a legitimate target for press intrusion.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • seem
    • consider something
    adverb
    • completely
    • entirely
    • perfectly
    See full entry
  2. allowed and acceptable according to the law synonym legal
    • the legitimate government of the country
    • Is his business strictly legitimate?
    • The legitimate government was reinstated after the uprising.
    opposite illegitimateTopics Permission and obligationc1, Law and justicec1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • seem
    • consider something
    adverb
    • completely
    • entirely
    • perfectly
    See full entry
  3. (of a child) born when its parents are legally married to each other opposite illegitimateTopics Family and relationshipsc2
  4. Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘born of parents lawfully married to each other’): from medieval Latin legitimatus ‘made legal’, from the verb legitimare, from Latin legitimus ‘lawful’, from lex, leg- ‘law’.
See legitimate in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee legitimate in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
ensure
verb
 
 
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