illegitimate C2+ Topic:Law & Government US /ˌɪləˈdʒɪtəmət/ UK /ˌɪlɪˈdʒɪtɪmət/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj not authorized by law or accepted standards; not legitimate The coup installed an illegitimate government overnight. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · not authorized by law or... unlawfulillegalunauthorizedimproperspuriousbastard ↔ Opposites legitimatelawfullegalauthorized Word family Derived forms illegitimatelyillegitimacy Related forms legitimatelegitimacy Etymology AI details From Late Latin illegitimus, from in- ('not') + legitimus ('lawful'), from lex ('law'). legitimus Latin lex Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Law & Government Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # illegitimate **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˌɪləˈdʒɪtəmət/ **IPA (UK):** /ˌɪlɪˈdʒɪtɪmət/ ## Meanings 1. not authorized by law or accepted standards; not legitimate ## Examples - The coup installed an illegitimate government overnight. ## Synonyms - unlawful - illegal - unauthorized - improper - spurious - bastard ## Antonyms - legitimate - lawful - legal - authorized ## Derived Forms - illegitimately - illegitimacy ## Related Forms - legitimate - legitimacy ## Roots and Affixes - Root: legitimus - Root: lex ## Etymology From Late Latin illegitimus, from in- ('not') + legitimus ('lawful'), from lex ('law'). ## AI Etymology Illegitimate is from Late Latin illegitimus, from in- ('not') + legitimus ('lawful'), from lex ('law'). Important recorded forms include legitimus (Latin) and lex (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers not authorized by law or accepted standards; not legitimate. The wider family includes derived forms such as illegitimately and illegitimacy and related words such as legitimate and legitimacy. ## Topics - Law & Government - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown