illegitimate

adjective

il·​le·​git·​i·​mate ˌi-li-ˈji-tə-mət 

1

a

: not recognized as lawful offspring

b

: born of parents not married to each other

2

a

: not sanctioned by law : illegal

b

: not authorized by good usage

c

of a taxon : published but not in accordance with the rules of the relevant international code

3

: not rightly deduced or inferred : illogical

4

: departing from the regular : erratic

illegitimately adverb

Synonyms

• baseborn
• misbegotten
• natural
• spurious
• supposititious
• unfathered

Examples of illegitimate in a Sentence

She thinks that my concerns are illegitimate.

They were fired from their jobs for illegitimate reasons.

Recent Examples on the Web

Russia's Putin, meanwhile, has remained in power for decades through deepening crackdowns on free expression and increasingly illegitimate elections, according to international experts. —Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 24 Feb. 2025

Trump is now repeating Kremlin talking points — that Ukraine, not Russia, started the war; that Zelenskyy is an illegitimate leader unpopular with Ukrainians. —Eleanor Beardsley, NPR, 24 Feb. 2025

Moscow has been at pains to incorrectly suggest Ukraine’s imminent joining of NATO was behind its unprovoked attack in 2022, and that Zelenskyy is illegitimate as Ukraine has not undertaken the immense challenge of running elections in wartime. —Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 19 Feb. 2025

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also repeatedly framed Zelenskyy as illegitimate, citing the postponement of the country's 2024 presidential elections due to martial law. —David Brennan, ABC News, 19 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1536, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for illegitimate

• legitimate

Kids Definition

illegitimate

adjective

il·​le·​git·​i·​mate ˌil-i-ˈjit-ə-mət 

1

: born of a father and mother who are not married

2

: illegal

illegitimately adverb

Legal Definition

illegitimate

adjective

il·​le·​git·​i·​mate ˌi-li-ˈji-tə-mət 

1

: not recognized by the law as offspring

specifically : born out of marriage

Note: An illegitimate child is usually legitimated by his or her parents' later marriage. Illegitimate children generally have the same inheritance rights under intestate successions as legitimate children; statutes limiting their inheritance rights have been found to violate the equal protection clause.

2

: not valid according to law

illegitimate noun