legitimacy
n. uncountablen. the quality of being legal, fair, or acceptable. People use this word to describe whether a leader, a rule, or an action is seen as right and honest by others.
n. the quality of being valid under law or conforming to established rules and standards. Often refers to the popular acceptance of a governing regime or an institutional authority.
The public questioned the legitimacy of the recent election results.
The new government struggled to establish its legitimacy after taking power during a period of civil unrest.
Scholars argue that the legitimacy of international law depends less on formal treaties and more on the consistent, voluntary compliance of sovereign states over time.
From legitimate + -cy.
Uncountable in its abstract sense; occasionally countable when referring to specific legal statuses.
the legitimacy for the decisionthe legitimacy of the decisionLegitimacy is typically followed by the preposition 'of' to indicate what is being validated.