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Definition of "illegitimate" []

  • Against the law; illegal. (adjective)
  • Born out of wedlock. (adjective)
  • Grammar Not in correct usage. (adjective)
  • Incorrectly deduced; illogical. (adjective)
  • Biology Unacceptable as a scientific name because of contradiction to the international rules of nomenclature. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "illegitimate" in a sentence
  • "I do have to say I dislike the term illegitimate when talking about children."
  • "All this will involve many a shock to prudery; to take only the instance of what we call illegitimate motherhood, our eyes askance must learn that there are other legitimacies and illegitimacies than those which depend upon the little laws of men, and that if our doctrine of the worth of parenthood be a right one it is our business in every such case to say, "Here also, then, in so far as it lies in our power, we must make motherhood as good and perfect as may be.""
  • "As unpopular as this abomonation is (for the $500 billion tax hikes, $500 Medicare cuts and dubious constitutionality on the substance), just imagine the chaos that will reign if a large segment of the population views ObamaCare as illegitimate from a process standpoint."