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Noun: legitimacy  li'ji-tu-mu-see
  1. Lawfulness by virtue of being authorized or in accordance with law
     
  2. The property of being genuine or valid, not being a fake or forgery
    "he hoped his claims would have a semblance of legitimacy";
    - authenticity, genuineness

Derived forms: legitimacies

Type of: believability, credibility, credibleness, lawfulness

Antonym: illegitimacy

Encyclopedia: Legitimacy

Nearest

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