What does delegitimise mean?
Delegitimise means to deprive a person, institution, government, or political process of its legitimacy—to make it appear unauthorised, improper, or no longer entitled to authority. The verb is especially common in political, legal, and institutional contexts, where speakers may describe one actor as attempting to undermine another’s claim to rule, representation, or procedural validity. It is stronger and more confrontational than simply criticising: the implication is that the authority or process lacks a valid basis, not merely that its policies are unpopular. The word appears in British English as delegitimise and in American English usually as delegitimize. It is useful when discussing the rhetorical and institutional work involved in denying legitimacy, but its accusatory tone means it is often better suited to analysis of a claim or reported speech than to neutral description. It also applies beyond politics, for example when a scientific body’s authority or an official procedure is challenged.
verbTo deprive something of legitimacy or the right to be regarded as valid or authoritative. It can also mean to undermine the perceived validity or rightful authority of a person, institution, government, or process.
- To deprive a person, institution, government, or process of legitimacy, or to make it appear invalid, unauthorised, or no longer entitled to authority.
"The court ruling sought to delegitimise the committee's authority to investigate the matter."
"Opposition leaders attempted to delegitimise the election process by questioning the independence of the electoral commission."
"The decision was widely expected to delegitimise the organisation's claim to represent the industry."
A word for the political move of making an authority's right to rule appear invalid before the question of power itself has been settled.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does delegitimise come from?
The verb combines the English prefix de-, indicating removal or reversal, with legitimate, a word borrowed from Latin legitimus, meaning “lawful,” which is based on lex, meaning “law.” Its formation parallels legitimise: to make something legitimate is contrasted with stripping or depriving it of legitimate status. The same Latin root underlies legitimate, legitimacy, illegitimate, and legitimise.
Related word forms
How delegitimise is actually used
A formal, chiefly political, legal, and institutional term. British English generally uses the spelling delegitimise, while American English usually uses delegitimize. It has an adversarial or accusatory force, suggesting that an authority lacks a valid foundation rather than merely attracting criticism.
Easily confused with delegitimise
Legitimise means to give something legitimacy or recognise it as valid, whereas delegitimise means to deprive it of legitimacy or undermine its authority.