legitimacy

C1 Topic:Law & Government

US /lɪˈdʒɪtəməsi/ UK /lɪˈdʒɪtɪməsi/ See IPA manual

Freq #27232

Meanings

1

noun
the quality of being lawful, valid, or justified

The court ruling confirmed the legitimacy of the regulatory process.
2

noun
recognized acceptance of a person, government, or institution's right to exercise authority

Transparent elections strengthened the new government's legitimacy.
3

noun
lawful birth or descent, especially as it historically affected inheritance or succession

The prince's legitimacy became central to the dispute over the throne.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the quality of being... lawfulness validity legality justification

2 noun · recognized acceptance of a... authority credibility acceptance mandate

3 noun · lawful birth or descent,... lawful descentlegitimate birth

Opposites

illegitimacyinvalidity unlawfulness

Word family

Derived forms legitimatelegitimizeillegitimacy

Related forms legality authority mandate succession

Etymology

Formed from legitimate and the state-forming suffix -cy. Legitimate comes from Medieval Latin legitimatus and Latin legitimus, 'lawful,' based on lex, 'law.' Political legitimacy extends legal validity to the accepted right to govern.

Topics

Law & Government

External links

# legitimacy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /lɪˈdʒɪtəməsi/
**IPA (UK):** /lɪˈdʒɪtɪməsi/
**Frequency rank:** 27232

## Meanings
1. the quality of being lawful, valid, or justified
2. recognized acceptance of a person, government, or institution's right to exercise authority
3. lawful birth or descent, especially as it historically affected inheritance or succession

## Examples
- The court ruling confirmed the legitimacy of the regulatory process.
- Transparent elections strengthened the new government's legitimacy.
- The prince's legitimacy became central to the dispute over the throne.

## Synonyms
- lawfulness
- validity
- legality
- credibility
- authority

## Antonyms
- illegitimacy
- invalidity
- unlawfulness

## Derived Forms
- legitimate
- legitimize
- illegitimacy

## Related Forms
- legality
- authority
- mandate
- succession

## Etymology
Formed from legitimate and the state-forming suffix -cy. Legitimate comes from Medieval Latin legitimatus and Latin legitimus, 'lawful,' based on lex, 'law.' Political legitimacy extends legal validity to the accepted right to govern.

## Topics
- Law & Government

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