1
as in spurious
born to a father and mother who are not married
despite being illegitimate, Alexander Hamilton rose to greatness
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illegitimate
Those de facto governments may be illegitimate, odious, and oppressive.
—
Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
His 2018 and 2024 elections were seen as riddled with irregularities and viewed as illegitimate.
—Aamer Madhani, Chicago Tribune, 3 Jan. 2026
Around ten years ago, there was a trend in criticism to treat it as offensive or illegitimate if a story depicted bad things happening without being entirely about those things.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026
The administration refers to him and his regime as an illegitimate narco-state terrorizing American communities.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illegitimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegitimate
Adjective
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Many politicians and government employees learned from The Times that they had been targeted with spurious filings.—
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Soon papers were published with claims of galaxies at redshifts of 10, 11 and even higher—and while many of those preliminary measurements wound up being spurious, several were ultimately confirmed out to redshifts greater than 14.—
Adjective
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Louisville police say anything that goes into the air or explodes is illegal for average citizens.—
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Official fireworks shows took place over the city, and illegal pyrotechnics lit up the sky everywhere in between.—
Adjective
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Importantly, the president already has full legal authority to impose tariffs when other nations’ behavior places an unreasonable burden on our economy, including through environmental negligence.—
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The logic was that Spirit had projected the league would grow at a rate that the league itself found unreasonable, and so would not be able to field a team while also paying Rodman.—
Adjective
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The United States and Israel are unlikely to be planning some misbegotten war of liberation in Iran, even if Netanyahu and Trump make ruling out such an adventure impossible.—
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Every year, the Globes’ most misbegotten category gets more hilarious.—
Adjective
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Troopers also seized an unregistered gun and ammunition from Cook, who is charged with trafficking 200 grams or more of cocaine, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.—
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But once those moratoriums ended in 2023, unlawful detainers (a type of notice that can lead to eviction) doubled from June 2022 to June 2023.—
Adjective
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Cramer warned that these moments can feel chaotic — even irrational — but are often driven by valuation extremes finally snapping back toward equilibrium.—
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Often, these unjustifiable fears arise simply because people draw irrational conclusions from rational concerns.—
Adjective
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Drug-trafficking networks with links to transnational cartels are active along Ecuador’s coast and have used fishermen and their small boats to transport illicit shipments, according to local police.—
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On the DeFi front, crypto advocates are fighting to ensure developers do not face prosecution when their technology is used for illicit activities like money laundering.—
Adjective
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Let sound political prescience but take the place of an unreasoning prejudice, and this will be done.—
Cite this Entry
“Illegitimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegitimate. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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