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
- bastard
- misbegotten
- natural
- spurious
- supposititious
- unfathered
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
She thinks that my concerns are illegitimate. They were fired from their jobs for illegitimate reasons.
Recent Examples on the Web The trouble with seeing all of the correspondence, some of which dates to the Trump Administration, as inherently illegitimate is that much of it seems to involve actual misinformation. 
The Editorial Board, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2022 From 2001 to 2021, Xiao and Tomorrow gave shares, real estate, cash and other assets to government officials totalling more than 680 million yuan, to evade financial supervision and seek illegitimate benefits, the court said. Reuters, NBC News, 20 Aug. 2022 The Russian leader recited his usual complaints about NATO expansion, the threat to Russian security, and illegitimate leadership in Ukraine. Liz Sly, Washington Post, 16 Aug. 2022 This unelected, illegitimate regime crossed the line with their GESTAPO raid! Margery A. Beck, USA TODAY, 12 Aug. 2022 Complaints over illegitimate massage businesses acting as fronts for prostitution led to a push for statewide licensure. Anne Ryman, The Arizona Republic, 11 Aug. 2022 Each has spread falsehoods about fraud and illegitimate ballots, endorsing the failed effort to override the 2020 results and keep former President Donald J. Trump in power. New York Times, 3 Aug. 2022 The Republican Party spent decades arguing that government was corrupt, if not illegitimate, and grew increasingly reliant on right-wing media for the party's messaging. Nicole Hemmer, CNN, 3 Aug. 2022 Aritha Wickramasinghe, an international lawyer, says that many view Mr. Wickremesinghe as an illegitimate president because he wasn’t elected by the people. Munza Mushtaq, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 July 2022 See More
The Editorial Board, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2022 From 2001 to 2021, Xiao and Tomorrow gave shares, real estate, cash and other assets to government officials totalling more than 680 million yuan, to evade financial supervision and seek illegitimate benefits, the court said. Reuters, NBC News, 20 Aug. 2022 The Russian leader recited his usual complaints about NATO expansion, the threat to Russian security, and illegitimate leadership in Ukraine. Liz Sly, Washington Post, 16 Aug. 2022 This unelected, illegitimate regime crossed the line with their GESTAPO raid! Margery A. Beck, USA TODAY, 12 Aug. 2022 Complaints over illegitimate massage businesses acting as fronts for prostitution led to a push for statewide licensure. Anne Ryman, The Arizona Republic, 11 Aug. 2022 Each has spread falsehoods about fraud and illegitimate ballots, endorsing the failed effort to override the 2020 results and keep former President Donald J. Trump in power. New York Times, 3 Aug. 2022 The Republican Party spent decades arguing that government was corrupt, if not illegitimate, and grew increasingly reliant on right-wing media for the party's messaging. Nicole Hemmer, CNN, 3 Aug. 2022 Aritha Wickramasinghe, an international lawyer, says that many view Mr. Wickremesinghe as an illegitimate president because he wasn’t elected by the people. Munza Mushtaq, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 July 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1536, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Kids Definition
illegitimate
adjective
il·le·git·i·mate ˌi-li-ˈji-tə-mət
: not accepted by the law as rightful
an illegitimate ruler
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
adjective
1
as in bastard
born to a father and mother who are not married despite being illegitimate, Alexander Hamilton rose to greatness Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- bastard
- spurious
- misbegotten
- supposititious
- orphaned
- adopted
- natural
- baseborn
- motherless
- fatherless
- unfathered
- nameless
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- legitimate
2
as in illegal
contrary to or forbidden by law an illegitimate use of campaign contributions for personal expenses Synonyms & Similar Words
- illegal
- unlawful
- illicit
- criminal
- felonious
- unauthorized
- wrongful
- forbidden
- immoral
- lawless
- criminalized
- prohibited
- unethical
- sinful
- shameful
- evil
- wrong
- reprehensible
- unsanctioned
- unscrupulous
- bad
- wicked
- unlicensed
- corrupt
- proscribed
- blameworthy
- censurable
- outlawed
- banned
- unprincipled
- discouraged
- interdicted
- disallowed
- blamable
- barred
- contraband
- villainous
- bootleg
- under-the-table
- under-the-counter
- adulterine
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- legitimate
- lawful
- legal
- right
- good
- righteous
- virtuous
- ethical
- permitted
- just
- authorized
- licensed
- endorsed
- approved
- principled
- correct
- promoted
- proper
- supported
- sanctioned
- allowed
- decent
- suggested
- indorsed
- abetted
- encouraged
- seemly
- decorous
3
as in unreasonable
not using or following good reasoning made several illegitimate inferences Synonyms & Similar Words
- unreasonable
- irrational
- unreasoning
- invalid
- misleading
- weak
- absurd
- illogical
- unreasoned
- foolish
- silly
- fallacious
- inconsequent
- inconsequential
- unsound
- meaningless
- nonrational
- weird
- unusual
- inconsistent
- misguided
- odd
- specious
- strange
- sophistic
- insane
- unconsidered
- asinine
- nonsensical
- ill-advised
- eristic
- sophistical
- random
- preposterous
- unaccountable
- eristical
- inexplicable
- disorganized
- unconvincing
- mad
- surreal
- half-baked
- disordered
- wacky
- senseless
- nutty
- reasonless
- whacky
- unexplainable
- peculiar
- rambling
- Kafkaesque
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- valid
- reasonable
- logical
- rational
- justified
- sound
- sensible
- wise
- sane
- enlightened
- plausible
- well-founded
- commonsense
- reasoned
- credible
- informed
- true
- certain
- compelling
- sober
- well-grounded
- organized
- solid
- convincing
- satisfying
- just
- persuasive
- clear
- ordered
- cogent
- sure
- confirmed
- validated
- established
- demonstrated
- substantiated
- corroborated