noun
- a person who supports the legitimate ruler or government, especially one who supports a claim to a throne based on hereditary right
Usage: historical; political
Examples
- The legitimist faction refused to recognize the new government after the revolution.
- French legitimists supported the Bourbon dynasty’s claim to the throne.
- As a legitimist, he believed only the rightful heir should rule the kingdom.
- The legitimist movement gained support among conservative nobles.
- Legitimists argued that the usurper had no legal right to power.
- The legitimist cause attracted those who valued traditional monarchy.