legitimate

The word “legitimate” means allowed by, or in agreement with, the law. In plain terms, legitimate means either lawful/official, or reasonable and justified.

“Legitimate” is pronounced lih-JIHT-ih-muht (/lɪˈd͡ʒɪt.ɪ.mət/ in IPA).

Here is “legitimate” used in a sentence: “The company operates a legitimate import business.”

The opposite of “legitimate” — its antonyms — is illegitimate.

Depending on how it is used, “legitimate” can be an adjective and a verb.

The word “legitimate” comes from Medieval Latin. From Medieval Latin legitimatus, "made lawful", from Latin legitimus ("lawful"), itself from lex, "law". It originally described children "lawfully begotten" — that is, born to a married couple.

“Legitimate” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Legitimate” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: allowed by, or in agreement with, the law.

'Legal' means simply allowed by law. 'Legitimate' also means allowed by or in agreement with the law, but it carries an extra sense of being reasonable, valid, and properly justified. Something can be legal yet still feel questionable, whereas 'legitimate' implies genuine and fair as well.

'Valid' means sound, well-founded, or logically acceptable, as in a valid argument. 'Legitimate' shares this sense of being reasonable and based on sound logic or accepted standards, but it also carries the meaning of being lawful. A concern can be both valid and legitimate.

Yes. Pronounced slightly differently, 'legitimate' can act as a verb meaning to make something lawful or justified, similar to 'legitimize'. More often, though, the related verb 'legitimize' is used for this purpose while 'legitimate' serves as the adjective.

These phrases use the second sense of the word: reasonable, valid, or based on sound logic and accepted standards. A legitimate reason is a genuine, justifiable one rather than an excuse, and a legitimate concern is a well-founded worry.