Legitimate
Legitimate adjective - Permitted by law.
Usage example: the mistrust created among investors by the financial scandal has hurt even companies engaged in wholly legitimate business practices
Legal is a synonym for legitimate in law topic. In some cases you can use "Legal" instead an adjective "Legitimate", when it comes to topics like lawful, behaviour, permission, admissible. popular alternative
Legal
Legal adjective - Permitted by law.
Usage example: the congressman's fund-raising efforts, though arguably unethical, were determined to be legal
Legitimate is a synonym for legal in lawful topic. You can use "Legitimate" instead an adjective "Legal", if it concerns topics such as behaviour, permission, law, admissible. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Cite this Source
Legal and Legitimate. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/legitimate/legal
Legitimate & Legal. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/legitimate/legal>.
Legal or Legitimate. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/legitimate/legal.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "legitimate" and "legal" have occurred on timeline