Definition of "legitimize" []

• To legitimate. (verb-transitive)

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.

• "My understanding is that the terms legitimize the "lifestyle.""
• "­ons aka legitimize­d bribary for special people is part of the reason issues of vital importance to all Americans keep getting shunted aside."
• "It's not simply that Palin's attacks "legitimize" questions about her ties to Alaskan extremists, which of course they do."