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
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3
as in unreasonable
not using or following good reasoning
made several illegitimate inferences
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of illegitimate
Democrats are already working to steal the election from Donald Trump, and the results are going to be illegitimate.
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Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2024
Democrats argued that the Kremlin’s support rendered Trump an illegitimate leader; Trump and his allies claimed that the intelligence agencies were part of a deep-state conspiracy against him.
—David D. Kirkpatrick, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
In 2021, Qanon followers recycled this claim to argue that President Biden’s inauguration was actually illegitimate.
—Sarah Emerson, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024
While the Taiwanese government insisted that the communist revolution made Mao’s rule over the mainland illegitimate and sought international recognition as the actual successor state to historic China, the global community has long since acknowledged the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party.
—Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 14 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for illegitimate 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegitimate
Adjective
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Los Angeles police officers responded to a spurious bomb threat at former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Brentwood mansion on Thanksgiving morning before giving the all-clear.Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2024
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Perhaps Pope Francis should be looking into cleaning his own house before making spurious accusations.Letters to the editor, Orlando Sentinel, 19 Nov. 2024
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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This piece of jewelry is meant to be special, but not unreasonable.Gia Yetikyel, Vogue, 3 Dec. 2024
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Only Carragher and Salah's other critics can explain why De Bruyne is exempt from the same, if unreasonable, critique.Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Claude has summoned Taverner into his office for the sort of misbegotten PowerPoint presentation that’s going to bore her to tears.Scott Tobias, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2024
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Ranking Coppola’s 23 features — his 1962 soft-core Tonight for Sure is not included, nor is his misbegotten New York Stories short feature or the Disney attraction Captain EO — was a difficult proposition.Scott Tobias, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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Accordingly, the taxpayers filed a lawsuit against the government, arguing that Notice 2007-83 was unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act.Matthew Roberts, Forbes, 26 Nov. 2024
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The Premier League have spent the last few weeks addressing the points that were found to be unlawful in the tribunal, leaving the other regulations in place.Dan Sheldon, The Athletic, 22 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Strict scrutiny exists because racial distinctions are presumed to be irrational — because race is an artificial category that has often been abused.The Editors, National Review, 5 Dec. 2024
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If not, the different treatment is irrational and violates the right to equal protection of the laws.Jessica Van Egeren, Journal Sentinel, 2 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Assisting him in this illicit venture was his son, Daniel Lins and Yilmaz Tozturkan, a nightclub bouncer.Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2024
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The younger Biden had denied use of illicit drugs while filling out that form — a claim that was a lie, as some tawdry testimony at his trial made clear.Niall Stanage, The Hill, 3 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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As an unofficial adviser to the Chinese government and a scientific ambassador between his birth country and his adopted home, Lee was instrumental in a wide range of education and exchange programs in China.Yangyang Cheng, NPR, 5 Sep. 2024
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About 20% were for a family’s new child, whether that is after giving birth or welcoming an adopted or foster child.Kinsey Crowley, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2023
Thesaurus Entries Near illegitimate
Cite this Entry
“Illegitimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegitimate. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.
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