# legitimate vs legitimize

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### legitimate
*adjective · IPA /lɪˈd͡ʒɪt.ɪ.mət/ · frequency rank #4,959*
In accordance with the law or established legal forms and requirements.

### legitimize
*verb · IPA /ləˈd͡ʒɪtɪmaɪz/ · frequency rank #39,393*
To make legitimate.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/legitimate-vs-legitimize