legitimate
/lɪˈd͡ʒɪt.ɪ.mət/
"legitimate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“legitimate” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,959 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #4,959
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In accordance with the law or established legal forms and requirements.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | legitimate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /lɪˈd͡ʒɪt.ɪ.mət/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #4,959 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “legitimate” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for legitimate is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /lɪˈd͡ʒɪt.ɪ.mət/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,959 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for legitimate, with forms such as "elgitimate", "leggitimate", and "legiitmate". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "legitimize", "legitimately", "legitimacy", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English legitimat, legytymat, from Medieval Latin lēgitimātus, perfect passive participle of Latin lēgitimō (“to make legal”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from Latin lēgitimus (“lawful”), originally "fixed by law, in line with the law,… The correct English form is legitimate, spelled L-E-G-I-T-I-M-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1In accordance with the law or established legal forms and requirements.
- 2Conforming to known principles, or established or accepted rules or standards; valid.
- 3Authentic, real, genuine.
- 4Marital.
- 5Marital.
- 6Relating to hereditary rights.
- 7Belonging or relating to the legitimate theater.
Etymology
From Middle English legitimat, legytymat, from Medieval Latin lēgitimātus, perfect passive participle of Latin lēgitimō (“to make legal”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from Latin lēgitimus (“lawful”), originally "fixed by law, in line with the law," from Latin lēx (“law”). Originally "lawfully begotten". The noun was derived from the adjective within English or earlier by substantivization (see -ate (noun-forming suffix)), the verb from the adjective by conversion (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: elgitimate,leggitimate,legiitmate,legitiamte,legitimaet,legitimatte,legitimmate,legitimtae,legitmiate,legittimate,legtiimate,leigtimate,lgeitimate,llegitimate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of legitimate - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "legitimate"?
What does "legitimate" mean?
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Using “legitimate”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-E-G-I-T-I-M-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /lɪˈd͡ʒɪt.ɪ.mət/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “legitimize” - see the side-by-side comparison. legitimate vs legitimize
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.