legitimacy

/ləˈd͡ʒɪtɪməsi/

//ləˈd͡ʒɪtɪməsi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"legitimacy" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“legitimacy” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,457. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,457
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The quality or state of being legitimate or valid; validity.

Corpus desk

Index EN-legitimacy · legitimacy · English

legitimacy · rank #12,457 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #12,457
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH leftist

Nearest frequency peer: leftist (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “legitimacy”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “legitimacy” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

legitimacy vs legitimate
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for legitimacy
PropertyValue
Headwordlegitimacy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ləˈd͡ʒɪtɪməsi/
Letters10
Frequency rank#12,457
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “legitimacy”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).legitimacylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “leftist” (#12,456), “LinkedIn” (#12,458), “lizard” (#12,459). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “legitimacy” is #12,457. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around legitimacy (IPA /ləˈd͡ʒɪtɪməsi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,457 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for legitimacy, with forms such as "elgitimacy", "leggitimacy", and "legiitmacy". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "legitimate", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From legitimate + -cy. The correct English form is legitimacy, spelled L-E-G-I-T-I-M-A-C-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The quality or state of being legitimate or valid; validity.
  2. 2
    The quality or state of being legitimate or valid; validity.
  3. 3
    Lawfulness of birth or origin; directness of descent as affecting the royal succession.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how legitimacy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The legitimacy based on a revolutionary essence was replaced by legitimacy with an ultranational, ultra-Yugoslav character.
  2. After decades of inequality and oppression, the regime had lost legitimacy with its own population.

Etymology

From legitimate + -cy.

Synonyms

legitimatenessallowabilityallowablenessliceitylegitimacylegitnesspermissibilitypermissiblenessvalidityvalidness

Antonyms

illegitimacyillegitimatenessinvalidityinvalidnessnonlegitimacynonvalidityunvalidity

This word in other languages

legitimidad(Español)légitimité(Français)Rechtmäßigkeit(Deutsch)legitimidade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elgitimacy
  • leggitimacy
  • legiitmacy
  • legitiamcy
  • legitimaccy
  • legitimacyy
  • legitimayc
  • legitimcay
  • legitimmacy
  • legitmiacy
  • legittimacy
  • legtiimacy
  • leigtimacy
  • lgeitimacy
  • llegitimacy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of legitimacy - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

elgitimacy2leggitimacy1legiitmacy2legitiamcy2legitimaccy1legitimacyy1legitimayc2legitimcay2
Edit distance from "legitimacy"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "legitimacy"?
"legitimacy" is spelled L-E-G-I-T-I-M-A-C-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ləˈd͡ʒɪtɪməsi/.
What does "legitimacy" mean?
As a noun, "legitimacy" means: The quality or state of being legitimate or valid; validity.
What words are commonly confused with "legitimacy"?
"legitimacy" is commonly confused with "legitimate". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "legitimacy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "legitimacy" is /ləˈd͡ʒɪtɪməsi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "legitimacy"?
From legitimate + -cy. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "legitimacy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

peacefully#12,472reconsider#12,483disrespect#12,405stationary#12,509

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

instincts15 variantsuniversally15 variantsbandwidth15 variantsbeforehand15 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list