HOW TO PRONOUNCE
legitimate
/ləˈdʒɪtəmət/
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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:03
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As an adjective, end with a light mit.
Stress JIT, using the j sound for g. The verb ends with a long a sound.
4 syllables · Stress on syllable 2
TRY SAYING
“They raised a legitimate concern.”
APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗What does legitimate mean?
adjective
- In accordance with the law or established legal forms and requirements.
- Conforming to known principles, or established or accepted rules or standards; valid.
- Authentic, real, genuine.
More meanings (6)
adjective
- Lawfully begotten, i.e. born to a married couple or later legitimated.
- Legally married.
- Relating to hereditary rights.
- Belonging or relating to the legitimate theater.
noun
- A person born to a legally married couple.
verb
- To make legitimate, lawful, or valid; especially, to put in the position or state of a legitimate person before the law, by legal means.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/ləˈdʒɪtəmət/
Pronunciation used in the listening tip.
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
For all these social facts, so spontaneous and free from all levelling intentions, are the legitimate fruits of the instinct of equality.
The engagement was not fulfilled, however, as his friend Sol Smith induced him to break it and return to the legitimate stage.
More book examples (2)
They lived for the most part a strictly ascetic life, being indeed the legitimate predecessors of the early Christian hermits and monks.
There are certain themes of which the interest is all-absorbing, but which are too entirely horrible for the purposes of legitimate fiction.