Definition

The state of being born to parents who are not married to each other, or the condition of being not allowed by law or rules.

Example

The illegitimacy of the contract was questioned in court.

Conversation

I was reading about the topic of illegitimacy in history books.

That sounds interesting! What did you find out?

It talked about how illegitimacy affected people's lives back then.

Wow, I bet that changed how society viewed certain families.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Illegitimacy is formed from "il-" (meaning not), "legitimus" (meaning lawful or legitimate), and "-acy" (meaning the state or quality of). The word refers to the state of being not lawful or not legitimate.

Memory Tip

Think of 'not' ('il-') and 'lawful' ('legitimus') to remember that 'illegitimacy' means the state of being not lawful.

Visually Confused Words