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

Speaking to reporters during a visit to a Russian nuclear submarine in Murmansk, the largest city north of the Arctic Circle, Putin reiterated his claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's mandate is illegitimate. —Astha Rajvanshi, NBC news, 28 Mar. 2025

This youngster was the illegitimate daughter of a deaf-mute. —Ken Fuchsman, Hartford Courant, 28 Mar. 2025

Above all, Garcia welcomed the rare opportunity to be a part of a Latine family that is financially comfortable without being involved in anything illegitimate. —Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 27 Mar. 2025

Putin has claimed that the government of Ukraine is illegitimate, has violated constitutional norms, and is run by Nazis. —G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs, 12 Mar. 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