Meaning & use
legitimation
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Meanings
noununcountable
The act of making something legal, official, or acceptable.
Grammar: Uncountable; used with 'the' or without an article: 'the legitimation of the new government'.
Patterns
- legitimation of something
- the legitimation of power
The legitimation of the new law took several months.
The government sought international legitimation of its actions.
The process of legitimation involved many legal steps.
noununcountablelegallaw
In law, the act of giving a child born outside marriage the legal status of a child born within it.
Grammar: Uncountable; often used in legal contexts: 'the legitimation of a child'.
Patterns
- legitimation of a child
- legitimation proceedings
The legitimation of the child required a court order.
Laws on legitimation vary from country to country.
He applied for the legitimation of his son.
Common combinations
- the legitimation of power
- The legitimation of power often relies on public consent.
- seek legitimation
- The regime tried to seek legitimation through elections.
- legal legitimation
- Legal legitimation was needed before the treaty could take effect.
- legitimation crisis
- The government faced a legitimation crisis after the scandal.
Synonyms and how they differ
- validation
- Validation means confirming that something is true or valid; legitimation is more about making something officially acceptable or lawful.
- authorization
- Authorization is the act of giving official permission; legitimation is broader, often about social or legal acceptance.
- legalization
- Legalization specifically means making something legal; legitimation can also refer to social or political acceptance.
Opposites
Word family
- legitimate adjective
- Allowed by law or fair and reasonable.
- legitimize verb
- To make something legal or acceptable.
- legitimacy noun
- The quality of being legal or acceptable.
Commonly confused: legitimation or legitimacy?
legitimation vs legitimacy
Legitimacy is the state of being legitimate; legitimation is the process of making something legitimate.
Practice
The new government needed international ______ to be accepted by other nations.
Choose one answer.
Legitimation fits here because it means the act of making something acceptable or official. 'Legitimacy' is the state of being accepted, which would also make sense, but the sentence emphasizes the process, so 'legitimation' is more precise. 'Legitimate' is an adjective, and 'legitimize' is a verb, so they do not fit grammatically.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “legitimation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.