What does legitimate mean?
Word: Legitimate
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Legitimate means allowed by law or by the rules; also fair and reasonable.
Synonyms: lawful, valid, genuine, fair
Antonyms: illegal, invalid
How do you spell legitimate?
Syllables: le - git - i - mate
Tricky part: The g sounds like j but is written g. The ending is mate, like the word mate.
Watch out for: legitmate, lejitimate, legitimite
Memory tip: The g in legitimate sounds like j, just as it does in giraffe and ginger; write g, never j.
Legitimate in a sentence
Example 1: A doctor's note is a legitimate reason for missing the test.
Example 2: The shopkeeper held the note to the light to see if it was legitimate.
Example 3: Asking for more time was a legitimate request after the power cut.
Fun Fact
Legitimate comes from the Latin lex, law. The same root gives us legal and, through old French, loyal.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
legitimate
a) unlawful
b) proper
c) official
d) rightful
Show answer
a) unlawful. Proper, official and rightful are close in meaning to legitimate; unlawful is against the law.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
leg_t_mate
a) i,a
b) e,i
c) a,i
d) i,i
Show answer
d) i,i. Le-git-i-mate has an i on both sides of the t.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) legislasion
b) juditial
c) legitimate
d) autentic
Show answer
c) legitimate. Authentic needs its h, legislation ends in tion, and judicial uses a c.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
tilegatmie
a) legitimate
b) mitigate
c) legislate
d) estimate
Show answer
a) legitimate. Legislate and estimate need an s, and mitigate would leave the l and an e unused, so legitimate is the only fit.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which is a legitimate way to enter a cinema?
a) using a fake ticket
b) climbing in through a window
c) showing a paid ticket
d) sneaking past the guard
Show answer
c) showing a paid ticket
2. A shop sells legitimate copies of a film. This means the copies are ____.
a) cheaper than any other copies
b) made in another country
c) made with the owner's permission
d) sold only on the internet
Show answer
c) made with the owner's permission
