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

The other kind of steroids are the potent inflammation fighters widely and legitimately used to treat dozens of illnesses.—

Paul G. Donohue

… several objections to their book can legitimately be raised.—

Christopher Lehmann-Haupt

Examples of legitimately in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Even now, a solid majority of Republicans believe Trump’s lie that Biden was not legitimately elected, despite reviews, audits and recounts in the battleground states that all affirmed Biden’s win. —

Chris Morris, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2024 Furthermore, only 31 percent of Republicans say Biden was elected legitimately, a substantial drop from the 39 percent of Republicans who said so in 2021, according to a Washington Post/University of Maryland survey published in January. —

Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 4 Nov. 2024 But when the Belchers attempt to leave and have trouble doing so, Louise starts getting legitimately freaked. —

Jen Chaney, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2024 Criticism of Trump on truth-telling reflects, at least in part, his false claim that Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 election. —

Gary Langer, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for legitimately