legitimize

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Cases like Lynch helped legitimize claims for Black citizenship, portraying birthright citizenship as an American tradition.

From Slate • Mar. 18, 2026

The U.K.’s pledge to build bigger, better quantum computers can be seen as an effort to legitimize the technology.

From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026

Flaunting their knighthood as a mark of status but discarding it the moment it requires true honor, they treat their vows only as an invented tradition, a set of rituals to legitimize their own power.

From Salon • Feb. 25, 2026

In the decades that followed, in his complementary positions as book critic and editor, Cowley worked tirelessly to legitimize the innovative writing of Hemingway, John Dos Passos, Hart Crane, E.E.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

“When I want mountains made out of molehills, when I want to legitimize their puerile actions by paying attention to them, I’ll let you know.”

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols