legitimately
adverb
le·git·i·mate·ly
li-ˈji-tə-mət-lē 
: in a legitimate manner : according to what is lawful, permitted, appropriate, or reasonable
money earned legitimately [=legally]
a question that can be legitimately asked
… objects of ritual significance that were common tribal property seldom if ever could have come legitimately into nontribal hands.—
Robert McC. Adams
Robert McC. AdamsThe other kind of steroids are the potent inflammation fighters widely and legitimately used to treat dozens of illnesses.—Paul G. Donohue
Paul G. Donohue… several objections to their book can legitimately be raised.—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
Christopher Lehmann-HauptExamples of legitimately in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There is, however, a rare charm to a legitimately garish book, which is part and parcel of why the original Neapolitan novels are so iconic, and what makes the new one so … not.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 2 May 2025
Pages is the one who is legitimately good enough to potentially get another manager to pay for the hot streak.
—Owen Poindexter, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Brian Hofer, chair of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission, said in certain instances police may legitimately need to shield their communications.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2025
Badgley is legitimately laugh-out-loud funny as his character reacts to her smallest hints of flirtation, falling into his usual patterns with sitcom-level predictability, all reinforcing his constant failure to change.
—Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legitimately
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Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 2 May 2025
Pages is the one who is legitimately good enough to potentially get another manager to pay for the hot streak.
—Owen Poindexter, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Brian Hofer, chair of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission, said in certain instances police may legitimately need to shield their communications.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2025
Badgley is legitimately laugh-out-loud funny as his character reacts to her smallest hints of flirtation, falling into his usual patterns with sitcom-level predictability, all reinforcing his constant failure to change.
—Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legitimately
Cite this Entry
“Legitimately.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legitimately. Accessed 10 May. 2025.
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