delegitimizeverb [ T ]
/ˌdiːləˈdʒɪt.ə.maɪz//ˌdiːləˈdʒɪt̬.ə.maɪz/formal UK usually delegitimiseto make something seem not valid or not acceptable:
If he does not take part in the election, it would delegitimize the entire electoral process.
More examples
- His spokesmen raged against the news media to delegitimize critical stories.
- She argues that nationalism was engrained in the very system of colonialism that it sought to delegitimize.
- The government’s tactics have been to delegitimize the voices of the poor.
- The intelligence agencies will try to use this to delegitimize the authenticity of the evidence that the captain was murdered.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Unsuitable and unacceptable
- amiss
- beneath your dignity idiom
- beyond
- beyond the pale idiom
- dignity
- grain
- improper
- incorrect
- indecent
- ineligible
- infelicitous
- infra dig
- offend
- offend against sth
- raffish
- room
- square peg (in a round hole) idiom
- that will never do! idiom
- unfit
- vulgar
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Upsetting and destabilizing