1
Enduring impact
A continuing effect produced by an earlier person or event.
Example
The reformer's greatest legacy was expanded access to public libraries.
legacy
/ˈleɡəsi/ · LEG-uh-seenoun
A lasting impact, achievement, tradition, or inheritance left by the past.
Use legacy for what a person, event, policy, or culture leaves behind and continues to influence later generations.
What legacy Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Inherited tradition
A practice or body of knowledge passed between generations.
Example
The festival preserves the region's maritime legacy.
3
Problem inherited from the past
A continuing burden caused by earlier decisions.
Example
Polluted soil remains a costly legacy of the old factory.
Use legacy Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The reformer's greatest legacy was expanded access to public libraries.
The festival preserves the region's maritime legacy.
Polluted soil remains a costly legacy of the old factory.
Precision Matters
Legacy overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
legacy
vs.Names what is inherited or continues to influence.
indelible
Describes an effect impossible to erase.
legacy
vs.Endures beyond its original period.
ephemeral
Lasts only briefly—the contrast.
legacy
vs.Is the continuing result of the past.
watershed
Is the pivotal event that changes later development.
legacy
vs.May consist of traditions or consequences long known.
revelation
Is newly disclosed information.
Test legacy in Context
The pollution is an enduring harmful consequence inherited from the past.
1
Although the factory closed decades ago, contaminated soil remains its most damaging ___, continuing to affect residents and redevelopment plans.