Advertisement
English Lexicon

Illegitimate

/ˌɪl.əˈdʒɪt.ə.mət/
adjectivenounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #8500 frequency
Full Thesaurus

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As adjective
  1. 1

    Born of parents not married to each other.

    "Historically, children born out of wedlock faced severe legal and social disadvantages as illegitimate offspring."
  2. 2

    Not authorized by the law; illegal or improper.

    "The government denounced the election results as illegitimate."
Advertisement

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from the Late Latin illegalitimus, combining the prefix in- (meaning 'not') and legitimus (meaning 'lawful' or 'born of married parents'). Entering Middle English via Old French during the 15th century, the term originally referred strictly to offspring born outside of legally recognized wedlock before broadening to describe anything contrary to law, rules, or logic.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Illegitimate"?

Advertisement
Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Illegitimate"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Illegitimate" Synonym Map
Advertisement