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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.
Betsy Klein, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
Defendants Patrick and Charles Boyd were convicted of defrauding the Food and Drug Administration by using their wholesale business to buy more than $90 million of illicit pharmaceutical drugs in other parts of the country and distribute them to unwitting customers in South Florida.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2025
The Matthew Perry Foundation, established in his name, addresses these issues, including the illicit fentanyl crisis that has affected border cities like San Diego.
—Ibrahim Al-Marashi, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Oct. 2025
State officials in California acknowledged in recent years that the illicit cannabis market was bigger than the legal recreational market, and one reason cited was that illicit cannabis is often cheaper compared with legal marijuana, which is taxed, unlike illicit marijuana.
—Adrienne Roberts, Freep.com, 29 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 1 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
illicit
adjective
In re Haas, 48 F.3d 1153 (1995)
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