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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.
Synonyms
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.
Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2024
Previously, lots of bitcoin was hopping through lots of bitcoin wallets, peaking at around 700 million in 2020.
Stablecoins, which had been little used by criminals until 2021, hit an inflection point in that year, with wallets receiving illicit funds spiking.
—Brady Dale, Axios, 12 July 2024
But authorities have been cracking down on the illicit trade in recent years, handing down stiffer sentences, including, in some cases, life in prison.
—Cheng Wong, NBC News, 11 July 2024
Running from the 1950s until it was shut down in 1973, the MK-Ultra program has subsequently made appearances in various conspiracy theories about high-profile assassinations and illicit government activity, according to the academic text Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 10 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for illicit 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'illicit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near illicit
Cite this Entry
“Illicit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illicit. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
illicit
adjective
In re Haas, 48 F.3d 1153 (1995)
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