legitimate

1. 1

   In accordance with the law or established legal forms and requirements.

   • Rodwell was sent off by referee Martin Atkinson - who has shown 15 red cards since the start of last season - after 23 minutes for what appeared to be a legitimate challenge on Suarez.
2. 2

   Conforming to known principles, or established or accepted rules or standards; valid.

   • legitimate reasoning; a legitimate standard or method
3. 3

   Authentic, real, genuine.

   • legitimate poems of Chaucer; legitimate inscriptions
4. 4

   Marital.; Lawfully begotten, i.e. born to a married couple or later legitimated.

5. 5

   Marital.; Legally married.

   • Besides his four legitimate wives, the caliph had dozens of concubines.
6. 6

   Relating to hereditary rights.

7. 7

   Belonging or relating to the legitimate theater.

1. 1

   A person born to a legally married couple.

   • But should a “holy alliance of legitimates” extinguish it, it will be but for a season.
   • This extraordinarily mixed family of legitimates and illegitimates seems to have maintained a certain kind of harmony.

ant. bastard · illegitimate

1. 1

   To make legitimate, lawful, or valid; especially, to put in the position or state of a legitimate person before the law, by legal means.transitive