legitimized

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.

The Declaration of Independence legitimized the cause of the rebels but also empowered them to brand loyalists as traitors who could be legally sentenced to death.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

“Seeing Peggy get her Cinderella moment legitimized her as one of the romantic leads of the show,” Benton says.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2025

The court is where these ideas are hatched, and it is legitimized in ways that allow Miller to go all out, 110 percent, every time.

From Slate • Sep. 29, 2025

Lincoln had to step gingerly, for a declaration of war against his own people was loathsome but more importantly would have legitimized the Confederacy as a nation able to establish diplomatic ties internationally.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 30, 2024

The fact that he seemed scared of the lady he had met in the woods legitimized his story a lot.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull