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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.
Bayliss Wagner, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
This relationship carried on for at least three months before a monitoring app on the student's cellphone alerted his parents to illicit texts between the two.
—Laura Gersony, The Arizona Republic, 21 Nov. 2024
The illicit drug market is incredibly flexible and resilient.
—Deidre McPhillips, CNN, 21 Nov. 2024
The problem is, bad guys easily create a host of new unsanctioned wallets, with layers of separation from their illicit activities, to outsmart solutions like this.
—Javier Paz, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for illicit 
Dictionary Entries Near illicit
Cite this Entry
“Illicit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illicit. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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Legal Definition
illicit
adjective
In re Haas, 48 F.3d 1153 (1995)
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