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
Many of the add-on AI features are legitimately helpful, and collaboration and permissions management is straightforward.
—PCMAG, 6 Mar. 2025
Rose was one of the two people accused of working in Jamaica and stealing the tickets by redirecting URLs that were supposed to be sent to people who legitimately bought them, the district attorney’s office said.
—Phil Helsel, NBC News, 5 Mar. 2025
Musselman can’t afford to let that be the case with Yates, who could legitimately develop into a first-round pick someday.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2025
In two civil cases, one in connection to the Art Institute’s Russian War Prisoner, federal courts determined that the pair were too late with their claims and that there was sufficient evidence that Lukacs had legitimately sold the Schiele.
—Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for legitimately
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PCMAG, 6 Mar. 2025
Rose was one of the two people accused of working in Jamaica and stealing the tickets by redirecting URLs that were supposed to be sent to people who legitimately bought them, the district attorney’s office said.
—Phil Helsel, NBC News, 5 Mar. 2025
Musselman can’t afford to let that be the case with Yates, who could legitimately develop into a first-round pick someday.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2025
In two civil cases, one in connection to the Art Institute’s Russian War Prisoner, federal courts determined that the pair were too late with their claims and that there was sufficient evidence that Lukacs had legitimately sold the Schiele.
—Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 24 Feb. 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 14 Mar. 2025.
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