illicitly
Americanadverb
-
in a way that is not legally permitted or authorized; unlawfully.
She estimates that more than one-third of all software installed on personal computers is obtained illicitly.
-
in a way that is disapproved of or not permitted for moral or ethical reasons.
In divorce proceedings, “corespondent” means the person that one of the partners has been illicitly sleeping with.
Etymology
Origin of illicitly
First recorded in 1660–70; illicit ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )
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 method is widely used across the industry, but US officials say Chinese firms have deployed it at scale to illicitly copy proprietary American systems.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
The raid stems from an investigation in May into allegations that three individuals illicitly exported the U.S. company’s AI servers to China that were equipped with high-end Nvidia chips.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
They found Murrell had used used charge cards, bank transfers and fake invoices to illicitly purchase items including jewellery, cosmetics, stationery, and games consoles.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Blanche said the agency would instead target only the terrorists and drug traffickers who illicitly used crypto, not the platforms that hosted them.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026
He was a born anatomist and so devoted to his studies that he sometimes illicitly borrowed limbs, organs, and other parts from cadavers and took them home for leisurely dissection.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
