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Illicit and Elicit
Illicit, while not exactly an everyday word, is far more common than its antonym, licit ("not forbidden by law, permissible"). Perhaps this is a function of our oft-noted fascination with bad behavior and boredom with rectitude. In any case, illicit may be used of behavior that is either unlawful or immoral. These categories frequently overlap, but they are not always synonymous, as some unlawful activities (illicit cigarette smoking) may not be considered immoral, while some immoral activities (an illicit affair) are not illegal. Illicit is occasionally confused with elicit because of the similarity in their pronunciations, but the two words have decidedly different meanings and functions: in contemporary English, elicit is a verb meaning "to get (a response, information, etc.) from someone," while illicit appears solely as an adjective.
Examples of illicit in a Sentence
David Ansen, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2002
"Thank you, Lieutenant," she said, bowing her head, just as she might in everyday, civilian life, and I felt suddenly illicit in her presence, as though we'd slipped out of sight of our chaperons …
—Chang-rae Lee, A Gesture Life, 1999
The companies that carry cellular … have adopted a number of monitoring techniques to detect illicit calls …
—Paul Wallich, Scientific American, March 1994
He was arrested for selling illicit copies of the software.
She had an illicit affair with her boss.
Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 23 Oct. 2025
There are some legitimate medical uses for fentanyl, including post-surgery and severe pain relief, but it is often mixed in with other illicit drugs and can be fatal.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
Jurors in the ongoing civil wrongful death trial in Orange County Superior Court will have to decide whether the Angels knew, or at least should have known, that Kay was providing illicit pills to Skaggs prior to the pitchers death.
—Sean Emery, Oc Register, 22 Oct. 2025
As Rolling Stone detailed in 2021, that year nearly one in six LASD deputies surveyed said they had been invited to join an illicit subgroup.
—Jesse Hyde, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illicit
Cite this Entry
“Illicit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illicit. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
illicit
adjective
In re Haas, 48 F.3d 1153 (1995)
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