legitimize

legitimize
le|git|i|mize
also legitimise BrE [lıˈdʒıtımaız] v [T]
[Date: 1800-1900; : Latin; Origin: legitimus; LEGITIMATE]
1.) to make something that is unfair or morally wrong seem acceptable and right
There is a danger that these films legitimize violence.
2.) to make something official or legal
Acceptance by the UN would effectively legitimize the regime.
3.) when parents legitimize a child, they get married so that the child becomes ↑legitimate 1(3)

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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  • legitimize — le‧git‧i‧mize [lɪˈdʒɪtmaɪz] also legitimise verb [transitive] 1. to make something legal or official that had not been before: • He hopes to legitimize private ownership of toll roads in California. 2. to make something acceptable or popular: •… …   Financial and business terms

  • legitimize — le·git·i·mize /lə ji tə ˌmīz/ vt mized, miz·ing: legalize legitimate Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. legitimize …   Law dictionary

  • Legitimize — Le*git i*mize (l[ e]*j[i^]t [i^]*m[imac]z), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Legitimized} ( m[imac]zd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Legitimizing}.] To legitimate. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • legitimize — (v.) 1795, from L. legitimus (see LEGITIMATE (Cf. legitimate)) + IZE (Cf. ize). Earlier was legitimatize (1791). Related: Legitimized; legitimizing …   Etymology dictionary

  • legitimize — (Amer.) v. make something lawful, authorize, legalize (also legitimise) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • legitimize — (also legitimatise) ► VERB ▪ make legitimate. DERIVATIVES legitimization noun …   English terms dictionary

  • legitimize — [lə jit′əmīz΄] vt. legitimized, legitimizing 1. to make or declare legitimate; specif., a) to make lawful; give legal force or status to b) to give official or formal sanction to; authorize c) to give the status of a legitimate child to (one born …   English World dictionary

  • legitimize — legitimate, legitimize 1. As a verb, legitimate is pronounced with the last syllable as ayt and means ‘to make legitimate or legal’. It competes in both BrE and AmE with legitimize, which is the only form used in the meaning ‘to make (a child)… …   Modern English usage

  • legitimize — UK [lɪˈdʒɪtəmaɪz] / US [ləˈdʒɪtəˌmaɪz] verb [transitive] Word forms legitimize : present tense I/you/we/they legitimize he/she/it legitimizes present participle legitimizing past tense legitimized past participle legitimized 1) to make something… …   English dictionary

  • legitimize — [[t]lɪʤɪ̱tɪmaɪz[/t]] legitimizes, legitimizing, legitimized VERB (The spellings legitimise in British English, and legitimatize in American English are also used.) To legitimize something, especially something bad, means to officially allow it,… …   English dictionary

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