How to Use illicit in a Sentence

illicit

adjective
Definition of illicitnext
Synonyms for illicitnext
  • She had an illicit affair with her boss.
  • He was arrested for selling illicit copies of the software.
  • Take the time to speak to your kids about the dangers of illicit substances, how to avoid and manage peer pressure, and what to look for.
    — Nickolaus Hayes, New York Daily News, 16 June 2024
  • Further, a loss of access could drive some to seek illicit sources of the drugs, which could turn deadly.
    — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 14 June 2024
  • There was a crackle of illicit energy from the big man.
    — Kevin Barry, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
  • Picture a flask of vodka passed across a corpse, a pool of blood lit up by neon signs, an illicit kiss soundtracked by screams.
    — Mikaella Clements & Onjuli Datta, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
  • Xi agreed to help curb the production of the illicit fentanyl that is a deadly component of drugs sold in the United States.
    — Chris Megerian, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2023
  • Used syringes contain residue or small amounts of illicit drugs and having one of those could lead to a drug posession charge.
    — Georgea Kovanis, Detroit Free Press, 13 May 2024
  • Law enforcement, meanwhile, has been unable to keep up with the spread of illicit sales and growing.
    — Michael R. Blood, Fortune, 1 Feb. 2024
  • In most of the trials, the charges were significantly reduced or outright dropped when the illicit use of snitches in the case came to light.
    — Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2023
  • That year, the ship made three illicit coal runs to North Korea, according to researchers.
    — Dera Menra Sijabat, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2023
  • The bliss of first bites, illicit cherries jubilee, Miyazaki’s gluttons ... and the crookie?
    — Laurie Ochoa, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024
  • The Sinaloa cartel has been not only one of the main purveyors of fentanyl to the U.S. market but a key supplier of illicit drugs around the world.
    — Eduardo Porter, Washington Post, 30 July 2024
  • Late in the season, Cruz tumbles into an illicit affair with someone at the heart of her mission.
    — Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2023
  • The Justice Department will have final say over whether to pursue the death penalty for Dominguez-Nieves, who was not on the boat during the illicit trip.
    — Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 25 June 2024
  • Anyway, the tryst becomes illicit, which is the point for Candy. Candy decides to take a shower.
    — Tommy Cummings, Dallas News, 28 Apr. 2023
  • Many captains now carry illicit firecrackers on board to throw at the whales.
    — Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 29 May 2024
  • But that decision took time to evolve and not from a desire to strike an illicit deal to cheat the system, Huffman insisted.
    — Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Dec. 2023
  • That’s a joy that pervades the book, despite a subplot involving an illicit romance that ends in tragedy.
    — Chelsea Leu, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2024
  • Huge amounts of illicit materials, yards and yards of this wretched stuff.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 20 July 2023
  • The 321-foot vessel was where many of the illicit discussions took place, according to a Bloomberg report on Friday.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 28 July 2023
  • His surname is derived from Ar-Ramtha, a city on the northern edge of Jordan which grew prosperous through the illicit transit of goods in and out of the country.
    — Ed Caesar, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Even knowing the risks, millions of Americans still opt to stream or download via illicit means.
    — Gavin Bridge, Variety, 21 Feb. 2023
  • In Boston, problems continue to plague the Mass. and Cass area, which has become an open-air illicit drug market.
    — Danny McDonald, BostonGlobe.com, 21 June 2023
  • In states like New York, the gap between what’s legal and what’s enforced has allowed illicit stores to pop up among the legitimate ones.
    — Jane C. Hu, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2024
  • True to form, Seo-rae and Hae-joon’s love is illicit and tragic, though the director forgoes the outrageous and the erotic to craft a chaste and yearning romance.
    — Thomas Page, CNN, 20 Oct. 2022
  • The store passed off tablets made of illicit fentanyl as the legitimate painkillers Jonathan needed to treat his severe migraines.
    — Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2023
  • One of them is an illicit swim, and another is avoiding paved roads as much as possible.
    — Eben Weiss, Outside Online, 4 Sep. 2024
  • Ketamine has long been used as a party drug, and a recent study showed the supply of illicit ketamine is increasing in the United States.
    — Jason Kravarik, CNN, 17 Aug. 2024
  • In its home market, the lender is concerned about South Africa being added to the global illicit-finance watch-list, which would increase the cost of capital.
    — Loni Prinsloo, Bloomberg.com, 31 Oct. 2022

Some of 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.

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