legitimacy
pronunciation
How to pronounce legitimacy in British English:
UK [lɪ'dʒɪtɪməsi]
How to pronounce legitimacy in American English:
US [lə'dʒɪtəməsi]
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- Noun:
- lawfulness by virtue of being authorized or in accordance with law
- undisputed credibility
Word Origin
- legitimacy (n.)
- 1690s, of children; general use by 1836; see legitimate + -cy. Legitimateness an earlier word for it.
Example
- 1. Improving the council 's legitimacy risks reducing its efficiency .
- 2. Iraq and afghanistan were lessons in the impotence of force without legitimacy .
- 3. Mr porter is right to worry that capitalism is suffering a crisis of legitimacy .
- 4. Legitimacy of a kind matters deeply .
- 5. But how to enhance its legitimacy ?