legal - lawful - legitimate
- legal - lawful - legitimate
◊ 'legal' and 'lawful'
Talks have begun for legal retirement at 60.
Capital punishment is legal in many countries.
All his activities had been perfectly lawful.
◊ 'legitimate'
Legitimate means `correct or acceptable according to a law or rule'.
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Legitimate can also mean `justifiable under the circumstances'.
Religious leaders have a legitimate reason to be concerned.
If someone is
legitimate, their parents were married at the time they were born.
...evidence that he was his father's legitimate son.
◊ another meaning of 'legal'
...the British legal system.
◊ 'law' in front of nouns
You use
law, not `legal', in front of a noun when you are talking about someone or something connected with the study of law.
He had only just received his law degree.
Law also appears in the names of some places and institutions connected with the law.
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Useful english dictionary.
2012.
Look at other dictionaries:
legitimate — legal, lawful, legitimate, licit 1. All four words share the basic meaning ‘conforming to the law’. Something is legal when it is authorized by the law of the land, legitimate when it conforms to custom or common justice, and lawful (a more old… … Modern English usage
lawful — legal, lawful, legitimate, licit 1. All four words share the basic meaning ‘conforming to the law’. Something is legal when it is authorized by the law of the land, legitimate when it conforms to custom or common justice, and lawful (a more old… … Modern English usage
legal — legal, lawful, legitimate, licit 1. All four words share the basic meaning ‘conforming to the law’. Something is legal when it is authorized by the law of the land, legitimate when it conforms to custom or common justice, and lawful (a more old… … Modern English usage
legitimate — le·git·i·mate 1 /lə ji tə mət/ adj [Medieval Latin legitimatus, past participle of legitimare to give legal status to, from Latin legitimus legally sanctioned, from leg , lex law] 1: conceived or born of parents lawfully married to each other or… … Law dictionary
lawful — lawful, legal, legitimate, licit mean permitted, sanctioned, or recognized by law or the law. Lawful differs from the others in implying a reference to various sorts of law (as divine law, natural law, or the law of the land, or as civil law,… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
lawful — law·ful adj 1 a: being in harmony with the law a lawful judgment a lawful purpose b: constituted, authorized, or established by law a lawful duty 2: law abiding … Law dictionary
legal — le·gal / lē gəl/ adj [Latin legalis, from leg lex law] 1: of or relating to law or the processes of law a legal question take legal action 2 a: deriving authority from or founded on law a legal tariff rate a legal government … Law dictionary
Lawful — Law ful, a. 1. Conformable to law; allowed by law; legitimate; competent. [1913 Webster] 2. Constituted or authorized by law; rightful; as, the lawful owner of lands. [1913 Webster] {Lawful age}, the age when the law recognizes one s right of… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Lawful age — Lawful Law ful, a. 1. Conformable to law; allowed by law; legitimate; competent. [1913 Webster] 2. Constituted or authorized by law; rightful; as, the lawful owner of lands. [1913 Webster] {Lawful age}, the age when the law recognizes one s right … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
legal age — Lawful Law ful, a. 1. Conformable to law; allowed by law; legitimate; competent. [1913 Webster] 2. Constituted or authorized by law; rightful; as, the lawful owner of lands. [1913 Webster] {Lawful age}, the age when the law recognizes one s right … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
