illicit
Americanadjective
-
not legally permitted or authorized; unlicensed; unlawful.
- Synonyms:
- prohibited, illegitimate
-
disapproved of or not permitted for moral or ethical reasons.
adjective
-
another word for illegal
-
not allowed or approved by common custom, rule, or standard
illicit sexual relations
Synonym Usage
See illegal.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of illicit
First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin illicitus, equivalent to il- 2 + licit ( def. )
Compare meaning
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Explanation
Illicit means not allowed by law or custom. It's illegal to kill endangered elephants, but many poachers still engage in the Illicit ivory trade. Illicit usually refers to something that is not morally proper or acceptable. Illicit activities — like smuggling or counterfeiting — happen under the radar of the law. Illicit is from Latin illicitus, from the prefix in-, "not," plus licitus, "lawful."
Vocabulary lists containing illicit
Some Tricky Homonyms
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This Week in Words: September 1 - 7, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Illicit operators moved in to exploit the demand and used bots to book tests on the official website and resell them.
From BBC • May 16, 2026
"Illicit" addresses identified by data firm Chainalysis accounted for 23% of funds sent to mixers in 2022, rising from 12% in 2021.
From Reuters • Aug. 23, 2022
Illicit climbing is “really problematic” for the tree and its surroundings, Mr. Russell said, but “climbers are the least of it.”
From New York Times • Aug. 2, 2022
To help farmworkers transition away from coca, Colombia launched the National Comprehensive Program for the Substitution of Illicit Crops shortly after the peace agreement.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 21, 2020
Illicit fur trading and the sale of firearms to the Indians were prohibited.
From The Colonization of North America 1492-1783 by Bolton, Herbert Eugene
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
