illegitimate

C2+ Topic:Law & Government

US /ˌɪləˈdʒɪtəmət/ UK /ˌɪlɪˈdʒɪtɪmət/ See IPA manual

adj

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... unlawful illegal unauthorized improper spurious bastard

Opposites

legitimate lawful legal authorized

Word family

Derived forms illegitimatelyillegitimacy

Related forms legitimate legitimacy

Etymology

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

# 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

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illegitimate

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