to legitimize
40
5.8
- verb
- /lɪˈdʒɪtəˌmaɪz/
- US
:
legitimar
- The new law will legitimize the use of medical marijuana in the state.
- help legitimize
- legitimize the rule
- legitimize the state
So we have papers to legitimize our our, our place there.
- So we have papers to legitimize our our, our place there.
- But giving it the Pulitzer Prize legitimates American culture as well.
- They have legitimized and formed businesses.
- So Hegel said that this legitimizes it instead of just simply tearing it down.
- No, I got to find some kind of challenge for myself or whatever to legitimize the relationship.
- We will not entertain joint economic or commercial schemes that would legitimize the status quo or illegal occupation.
- You sell drugs, you build businesses, and then you get out of the illegal game and you legitimize yourself.
- They weren't going to swallow, but I would go in and I would use my job at Details magazine to sort of help, you know, legitimize this.
- But for the long trajectory of our markets, this D legitimizes our economy, which is a play that authoritarians use.
Examples
-
Needless to say, a major headliner in the showroom helped legitimize the entire operation.
-
What has been its strategy to legitimize its involvement in the conflict?
Academic text (2017) -
So we have papers to legitimize our our, our place there.
-
No, I got to find some kind of challenge for myself or whatever to legitimize the relationship.
-
Good writing will legitimize it, get people to pay attention.
-
Now I ask you, how do you intend to legitimize that?
-
In their view, the rules are designed to legitimize violence rather than restrain it.
Academic text (2011) -
The process also helped to legitimize the negotiations between the government and the political agents representing the PKK.
Academic text (2017) -
Further, any economic growth that China might realize would only legitimize the repression of the Beijing regime.
Academic text (1999) -
The findings suggest that Hizbullah has been adept at developing a strategy for legitimizing its armed engagement outside Lebanese territory.
Academic text (2017)
Synonyms
192
3.9
To officially say that something meets a required standard
135
3.7
Make something allowed by law
87
3.9
To make something officially acceptable by showing proof
16
7.1
To give religious approval during a formal ceremony
15
4.9
To make something official by following rules, often with a written agreement
1
5.6
To make something legal or accepted by law
1
7.0
To give something formal approval from someone in charge
Make something legal by official approval
To officially approve a product for legal or technical use
To give permission to start or use something
Antonyms
How Legal
- US
135
3.7
- US
40
5.8
- Formal
53
6.3
531
1.5
∞
1.6
- Formal
377
1.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
legitimize = legitimate (transparent) = legitimate + ize
Formed by adding the productive suffix '-ize' to 'legitimate', yielding the verb 'make legitimate' which is directly inferable.
Etymology
Legitimize comes from the old Latin word legitimus, which is built on lex meaning 'law' and the ending -ize meaning 'make', and you can see the same idea in the simple word legal. So, to legitimize something is to 'make' it 'lawful' or officially acceptable, which is why the word means to make something legal.