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
Related Words
See illegal.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of illicit
First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin illicitus, equivalent to il- 2 + licit ( def. )
Compare meaning
How does illicit compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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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Brave New World
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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.
The bags are usually $1.49 or 99 cents, which feels almost illicit in this economy.
From Salon • May 22, 2026
“Binance has zero-tolerance for illicit activity on its platform, and since 2024, Binance has transformed and built a best-in-class compliance program,” reducing exposure to sanctioned entities and high-risk areas to near-zero levels, the spokesperson said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
For Cage, it’s a combination of its visual aesthetic and the moral ambiguity of the mysteries and illicit affairs in film noir that have made the genre endure among cinephiles.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026
Using satellite imagery and analyzing the vessel’s history, Kpler caught the Hero II off the coast of Singapore executing an illicit ship-to-ship transfer with another vessel, the Magnolia.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026
So many stars, it seemed like a celebration, a grand, illicit party the galaxy was holding after the humans had been put to bed.
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
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.
