legitimately
adverb
le·git·i·mate·ly
li-ˈji-tə-mət-lē 
: in a legitimate manner : according to what is lawful, permitted, appropriate, or reasonable
money earned legitimately [=legally]
a question that can be legitimately asked
… objects of ritual significance that were common tribal property seldom if ever could have come legitimately into nontribal hands.—
Robert McC. Adams
Robert McC. AdamsThe other kind of steroids are the potent inflammation fighters widely and legitimately used to treat dozens of illnesses.—Paul G. Donohue
Paul G. Donohue… several objections to their book can legitimately be raised.—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
Christopher Lehmann-HauptExamples of legitimately in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
When senators had a chance, Democrats and Republicans blocked Maine Senator Susan Collins’s amendment that would have attempted to raise taxes on the super-rich to help legitimately pay for the bill.
—Gary Franks, Hartford Courant, 12 July 2025
This was the first time Hollywood managed to deliver legitimately impressive moments of flight for the Man of Steel.
—Will Harris, EW.com, 11 July 2025
Still, Suter’s offensive impact isn’t nearly as significant as Kane’s is, and that goes beyond goal scoring, although Kane is a legitimately high-end five-on-five goal scorer and a top-10 NHL forward by shot rate over the past four seasons as well.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 11 July 2025
Keep in mind, these are tools used perfectly legitimately for a host of things from accessibility to content creation – but like many AI technologies, can be misused by bad actors.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for legitimately
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Gary Franks, Hartford Courant, 12 July 2025
This was the first time Hollywood managed to deliver legitimately impressive moments of flight for the Man of Steel.
—Will Harris, EW.com, 11 July 2025
Still, Suter’s offensive impact isn’t nearly as significant as Kane’s is, and that goes beyond goal scoring, although Kane is a legitimately high-end five-on-five goal scorer and a top-10 NHL forward by shot rate over the past four seasons as well.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 11 July 2025
Keep in mind, these are tools used perfectly legitimately for a host of things from accessibility to content creation – but like many AI technologies, can be misused by bad actors.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for legitimately
Cite this Entry
“Legitimately.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legitimately. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.
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