legitimacy

The word “legitimacy” means the state of being lawful, valid, or generally accepted as proper. In plain terms, legitimacy is the quality of being lawful, genuine, or properly justified, so that people accept it as valid.

“Legitimacy” is pronounced luh-JIH-tih-muh-see (/ləˈd͡ʒɪtɪməsi/ in IPA).

Here is “legitimacy” used in a sentence: “The election results gave the new government legitimacy.”

Words with a similar meaning to “legitimacy” include legitimateness, allowability, allowableness, liceity, legitness and permissibility.

The opposite of “legitimacy” — its antonyms — are illegitimacy, illegitimateness, invalidity, invalidness and nonlegitimacy.

“Legitimacy” is a noun.

“Legitimacy” is an uncommon word in modern English.

Legality refers strictly to whether something complies with the law, while legitimacy is broader and includes being generally accepted as proper, fair, or valid, even in contexts without formal legal rules. A government's actions can be legal but still lack legitimacy if the public does not view them as rightful.

In politics, legitimacy describes the extent to which a government, leader, or institution is accepted by the people as having the rightful authority to govern. A government can lose legitimacy through corruption, fraud, or loss of public trust even if it remains legally in power.

Questioning the legitimacy of something means challenging whether it is genuinely lawful, valid, or properly recognized, rather than accepting its authority or authenticity at face value. This can apply to elections, documents, claims, or institutions.