From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishillegitimateil‧le‧git‧i‧mate /ˌɪləˈdʒɪtəmət◂/ adjective 1 MARRYborn to parents who are not married OPP legitimate his illegitimate son2 LET/ALLOWnot allowed or acceptable according to rules or agreements OPP legitimate a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate trade —illegitimately adverb —illegitimacy noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
illegitimate• Many of these insurance claims are illegitimate.• In 1960,2 percent of white births and 22 percent of black births were illegitimate.• John F.. Kennedy won by a hair and under questionable circumstances, yet his presidency was never considered illegitimate.• In the mid-1980s, about one-third of first births are illegitimate as was discussed in chapter 3.• an illegitimate child• We're not peppering the world with illegitimate children.• Trying artificially to separate politics and management, or treat the former as an illegitimate intrusion, is naive.• In a Newcastle study, more than 70 percent of first illegitimate pregnancies were followed by another.• We refer, of course, to the existence of her illegitimate son.• Yet he made no attempt to harass the driver into any illegitimate speed. 