illicit

adjective

il·lic·it (ˌ)i(l)-ˈli-sət How to pronounce illicit (audio)

: not permitted : unlawful

illicitly adverb

Did you know?

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.

Example Sentences

The wedding is mounted in traditional Punjabi style, but underneath the formal fanfare simmer dysfunctional-family tensions, deep dark secrets, … and illicit affairs.

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.

Recent Examples on the Web He's also issued them on Myanmar and Afghanistan and authorizing sanctions on Russia, Ethiopia and individuals linked to the global illicit drug trade.

Will Weissert, ajc, 13 Aug. 2022 This week's deaths are the latest tragedy in India's long battle to control the illicit trade.

Swati Gupta And Rhea Mogul, CNN, 27 July 2022 Such work typically involves long, monotonous flights to monitor illicit trade, such as clandestine fuel transfers at sea to circumvent UN restrictions on selling oil to North Korea.

Austin Ramzy, BostonGlobe.com, 9 June 2022 Climate change and the illicit wildlife trade only make the problem worse.

David Axe, Rolling Stone, 23 May 2022 For years, Mexico’s two most powerful cartels have worked to control the illicit drug trade in Northeast Ohio through price and availability.

John Caniglia, cleveland, 2 Apr. 2022 The bill, however, may not put much of a dent in the illicit trade.

Jesse Leavenworth, courant.com, 28 Mar. 2022 But the advisory, heralded as an important step to crack down on the shipping companies that do business with U.S. adversaries, makes no mention of the latest GPS trick to hide illicit trade in oil, seafood and other products.

Joshua Goodman, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Feb. 2022 Iran’s porous 1195 mile-long eastern border with Afghanistan, the world’s largest producer of opium, has turned it into a key transit country for the illicit drug trade.

NBC News, 30 Dec. 2021 See More

单词	illicit
释义	illicit adjective il·lic·it (ˌ)i(l)-ˈli-sət : not permitted : unlawful illicitly adverb Did you know? 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 criminal felonious illegal illegitimate lawless unlawful wrongful See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences The wedding is mounted in traditional Punjabi style, but underneath the formal fanfare simmer dysfunctional-family tensions, deep dark secrets, … and illicit affairs. 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. Recent Examples on the Web He's also issued them on Myanmar and Afghanistan and authorizing sanctions on Russia, Ethiopia and individuals linked to the global illicit drug trade. Will Weissert, ajc, 13 Aug. 2022 This week's deaths are the latest tragedy in India's long battle to control the illicit trade. Swati Gupta And Rhea Mogul, CNN, 27 July 2022 Such work typically involves long, monotonous flights to monitor illicit trade, such as clandestine fuel transfers at sea to circumvent UN restrictions on selling oil to North Korea. Austin Ramzy, BostonGlobe.com, 9 June 2022 Climate change and the illicit wildlife trade only make the problem worse. David Axe, Rolling Stone, 23 May 2022 For years, Mexico’s two most powerful cartels have worked to control the illicit drug trade in Northeast Ohio through price and availability. John Caniglia, cleveland, 2 Apr. 2022 The bill, however, may not put much of a dent in the illicit trade. Jesse Leavenworth, courant.com, 28 Mar. 2022 But the advisory, heralded as an important step to crack down on the shipping companies that do business with U.S. adversaries, makes no mention of the latest GPS trick to hide illicit trade in oil, seafood and other products. Joshua Goodman, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Feb. 2022 Iran’s porous 1195 mile-long eastern border with Afghanistan, the world’s largest producer of opium, has turned it into a key transit country for the illicit drug trade. NBC News, 30 Dec. 2021 See More Word History Etymology Latin illicitus, from in- + licitus lawful — more at licit First Known Use 1506, in the meaning defined above Kids Definition illicit adjective il·lic·it i-ˈli-sət : not permitted : unlawful Legal Definition illicit adjective il·lic·it il-ˈli-sət : not permitted : unlawful an illicit motive to defeat or evade the taxes In re Haas, 48 F.3d 1153 (1995) illicit adjective as in illegal contrary to or forbidden by law had a long history of using illicit drugs Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance illegal unlawful criminal felonious unauthorized illegitimate wrongful forbidden criminalized prohibited lawless immoral sinful unsanctioned unethical evil shameful contraband wicked unlicensed proscribed wrong banned reprehensible bad outlawed interdicted unscrupulous bootleg censurable corrupt discouraged disallowed blameworthy under-the-table barred blamable under-the-counter villainous unprincipled adulterine Antonyms & Near Antonyms legitimate legal lawful good ethical righteous permitted right virtuous just authorized licensed approved proper endorsed correct allowed promoted principled sanctioned supported decent suggested encouraged abetted decorous seemly indorsed See More
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illicit

adjective

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

adjective

Legal Definition

adjective

adjective