elicit

[ih-lis-it]

See more synonyms for elicit on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to draw or bring out or forth; educe; evoke: to elicit the truth; to elicit a response with a question.

Origin of elicit

1635–45; < Latin ēlicitus drawn out (past participle of ēlicere), equivalent to ē- e-¹ + lici- draw, lure + -tus past participle suffix

Related formse·lic·i·ta·tion, noune·lic·i·tor, nounnon·e·lic·it·ed, adjectiveun·e·lic·it·ed, adjective

Can be confusedelicit illicit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for elicitation

juice, excerpt, quotation, eradication, clipping, selection, concentrate, essence, abstract, citation, distillation, infusion, passage, cutting, distillate, elicitation, decoction, abstraction, derivation, evocation

British Dictionary definitions for elicitation

elicit

verb (tr)

to give rise to; evoketo elicit a sharp retort
to bring to lightto elicit the truth

Derived Formselicitable, adjectiveelicitation, nounelicitor, noun

Word Origin for elicit

C17: from Latin ēlicere to lure forth, from licere to entice

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for elicitation

elicit

1640s, from Latin elicitus, past participle of elicere "draw forth," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + -licere, comb. form of lacere "to entice, lure, deceive" (related to laqueus "noose, snare;" see lace (n.)). Related: Elicited; eliciting; elicits; elicitation.