1
as in spurious
born to a father and mother who are not married
despite being illegitimate, Alexander Hamilton rose to greatness
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in illegal
contrary to or forbidden by law
an illegitimate use of campaign contributions for personal expenses
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in unreasonable
not using or following good reasoning
made several illegitimate inferences
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illegitimate
His failure to win the popular vote made his election feel contestable, even illegitimate.
—
Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2025
Among them, pyramid schemes, membership fee fakes, credit repair cons, dubious health offers, fictitious diploma schools and illegitimate gaming services.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2025
Created primarily to fight organized crime, RICO was seldom used until a 1981 Supreme Court decision expanded its interpretation to apply to both legitimate and illegitimate enterprises, according to Jeffrey Grell, an expert on the law who previewed the case for the American Bar Association.
—Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 2 Apr. 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
See All Example Sentences for illegitimate
Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2025
Among them, pyramid schemes, membership fee fakes, credit repair cons, dubious health offers, fictitious diploma schools and illegitimate gaming services.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2025
Created primarily to fight organized crime, RICO was seldom used until a 1981 Supreme Court decision expanded its interpretation to apply to both legitimate and illegitimate enterprises, according to Jeffrey Grell, an expert on the law who previewed the case for the American Bar Association.
—Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 2 Apr. 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
See All Example Sentences for illegitimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegitimate
Adjective
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As more data becomes available, the AI tool improves its learning, becoming more sensitive to variations in the data, more adept at identifying good and bad patterns, and better able to detect spurious patterns.—
John Clemons,
Forbes.com,
17 Apr. 2025
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Two years ago, several small-business owners testified to a legislative committee that Americans with Disabilities Act plaintiffs’ lawyers filed spurious complaints, alleging what appeared to be a random list of violations in an attempt to frighten and intimidate the business owner.—
Mark Hillman,
Denver Post,
16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Official fireworks shows took place over the city, and illegal pyrotechnics lit up the sky everywhere in between.—
Lisa Beebe,
Los Angeles Magazine,
5 July 2017
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Louisville police say anything that goes into the air or explodes is illegal for average citizens.—
James Bruggers,
The Courier-Journal,
5 July 2017
Adjective
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The words were harsh but the logic was not unreasonable.—
George Caulkin,
The Athletic,
24 Mar. 2025
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This would not be an unreasonable proposition, considering the U.S. already pledged a security guarantee to Ukraine upon its return of all nuclear warheads to Russia by 1996, based on the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances.—
Seung-Whan Choi,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The logic of the intelligence cutoff is straightforward, if misbegotten.—
The Editors,
National Review,
11 Mar. 2025
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Rise of the Planet of the Apes came long after the original five movies and an earlier misbegotten attempt to reboot the franchise.—
Matt Cabral,
EW.com,
23 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The lawsuit will argue that Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to enact tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China is unlawful.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Apr. 2025
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The suit will argue that Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which grants the president increased powers during an economic emergency, to impose tariffs is unlawful and requires congressional approval.—
Elaine Mallon,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Added to the chaos is the underlying rudimentary calculation of tariff levels that have produced wildly uneven and irrational effects on trading partners with no readily discernible policy value.—
Jerrold Lundquist,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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The characters are believably upset and irrational for much of the play.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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For various examples and further detailed indications about the nature of what is considered illicit prompts (i.e., that you aren’t supposed to use), see my coverage at the link here.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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In a memo sent Monday night, Blanche directed the closure of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and ordered prosecutors to pivot to investigating transnational criminal organizations and terrorist groups that use crypto to engage in illicit transactions.—
Josh Meyer,
USA Today,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The Amazon founder was previously married to Mackenzie Scott from 1993 to 2019, and the couple share three sons and an adopted daughter.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
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His adopted daughter, Sandra Correia Lopes, 12, weighs just 12 kilograms, or 26 pounds, and falls sick frequently.—
Sui-Lee Wee,
New York Times,
16 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Illegitimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegitimate. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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