ill-gotten

American  

[il-got-n] / ˈɪlˈgɒt n /

adjective

1. acquired by dishonest, improper, or evil means.

   ill-gotten gains.

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ill-gotten British  

adjective

1. obtained dishonestly or illegally (esp in the phrase ill-gotten gains )

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Etymology

Origin of ill-gotten

First recorded in 1545–55

Explanation

If you acquire something in a dishonest way — by stealing it, for example — it's ill-gotten. When a bully pressures classmates to hand over their lunch money, the bully might go home that day with a pocket full of ill-gotten quarters. You'll often find this adjective in the phrase "ill-gotten gains," a general description of anything that's obtained unethically. The CEO of a company who embezzles money from it might be caught with a bank account full of ill-gotten gains, and pawn shops are places where criminals sometimes sell the ill-gotten gains they've stolen. If your dog steals your dinner off the kitchen table, you can describe it as his ill-gotten steak.

Example Sentences

The days when dictators could live in gilded exile with fortunes in secret Swiss bank accounts are mostly over, primarily because of global mechanisms for adjudicating human-rights abuses and tracking ill-gotten gains.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 26, 2025

Such ill-gotten gains should not survive a brush with the Constitution.

From Slate • Nov. 18, 2025

A Cambodian conglomerate whose founder has had more than $15 billion of allegedly ill-gotten assets seized said it "categorically rejects" claims he amassed his fortune running an internet scam empire.

From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025

"They must have the systems in place to prevent the flow of ill-gotten gains into the financial system," she said.

From BBC • Jul. 8, 2025

To burn every trace of her love—my ill-gotten beauty—from my body.

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi