complicit
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of complicit
First recorded in 1855–60; back formation from complicity
Compare meaning
How does complicit compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When you're complicit, you're guilty of being involved in some underhanded or illegal activity. If you see your brother steal the neighbor's cat and don't say anything, you're complicit in a catnapping! Whenever someone makes it easier for a crime or wrongdoing to be committed, they're complicit in it. A getaway driver may not have actually robbed a bank, but she's still complicit in the crime of robbery because she helped the robber. And you may not be responsible for taking the neighbor's cat, but if you suggested to your brother that nobody would notice if he did (and promised not to tell), you're completely complicit!
Vocabulary lists containing complicit
Founding Brothers
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This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for January 9–15, 2021
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Banned Book Club
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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.
We’re all paying the nauseating price now, and anyone who paved the way is complicit.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2026
"They are complicit in this phenomenon and they should be held accountable," she said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
The videos form part of the lawsuit against Saudi Arabia, which argues the country was complicit and that Bayoumi aided two of the hijackers.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
“They have to accept they are complicit in something that provides some good thing to others. It’s a very Graham Greene way of thinking about sacrifice.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
The fact that black people during Jim Crow were often complicit with the system of control did not mean they supported racial oppression.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
