illicit

[ ih-lis-it ]

/ ɪˈlɪs ɪt /

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See synonyms for: illicit / illicitly / illicitness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not legally permitted or authorized; unlicensed; unlawful.

disapproved of or not permitted for moral or ethical reasons.

OTHER WORDS FOR illicit

1 illegitimate, prohibited.

See synonyms for illicit on Thesaurus.com

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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Origin of illicit

From the Latin word illicitus, dating back to 1645–55; see il-², licit

synonym study for illicit

1. See illegal.

OTHER WORDS FROM illicit

il·lic·it·ly, adverbil·lic·it·ness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH illicit

1. elicit, illicit 2. illegal, illicit (see synonym study at illegal)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use illicit in a sentence

Tillis and Cunningham had been locked in a tight race, but the Democrat had to answer in the campaign’s final weeks for illicit texts to a woman not his wife and revelations of infidelity.
Senators elect McConnell, Schumer as leaders in next Congress, but majority still to be decided|Felicia Sonmez|November 10, 2020|Washington Post
A 2017 report by the Global Drug Survey found that magic mushrooms were less likely to send users to the emergency room than any other illicit drug.
Oregon just voted to legalize magic mushrooms. Here’s what that actually means.|Rachel Feltman|November 5, 2020|Popular-Science
High despair scores predicted illicit drug abuse and suicidal thoughts and behaviors regardless of whether 25- to 30-year-olds qualified as depressed.
‘Deaths of despair’ are rising. It’s time to define despair|Bruce Bower|November 2, 2020|Science News
You have this great chapter in the book where you talk about working with a digital forensics expert to find information hidden on the work computer of an employee suspected of illicit activity.
A journalist-turned-detective on how corporate America depends on private sleuths|Jeremy Kahn|October 31, 2020|Fortune

A weakened reward circuitry could be a cause of depression, which would help explain why people with depression may self-medicate by taking illicit drugs that boost dopamine.
The Epigenetic Secrets Behind Dopamine, Drug Addiction and Depression|R. Douglas Fields|October 27, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Magomed illicitly made $1.3 million from this bridge loan scheme.
Putin's Criminal Olympics|Michael Weiss|January 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Jackson County has never had a feud; its chief lawlessness has been the promiscuous sale of whiskey, illicitly, of course.
Kentucky's Famous Feuds and Tragedies|Chas. G Mutzenberg
His conduct had been inspired by "power illicitly obtained."
The Life of John Marshall Volume 3 of 4|Albert J. Beveridge
The night has a subdued preciousness, like an illicitly pregnant womans.
I, Mary MacLane|Mary MacLane
The average price of a two-year-old not thus illicitly vended was 70 yen.
The Foundations of Japan|J.W. Robertson Scott
It did not abolish smuggling, inasmuch as a letter might be sent illicitly for a penny.
Her Majesty's Mails|William Lewins

British Dictionary definitions for illicit

illicit

/ (ɪˈlɪsɪt) /

adjective

another word for illegal

not allowed or approved by common custom, rule, or standardillicit sexual relations

Derived forms of illicit

illicitly, adverbillicitness, noun

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

illicit

OTHER WORDS FOR illicit

Origin of illicit

synonym study for illicit

OTHER WORDS FROM illicit

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH illicit

Words related to illicit

How to use illicit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for illicit

Derived forms of illicit