illicitly
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.
Origin of illicitly
1Words Nearby illicitly
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use illicitly 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 PostA 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-ScienceHigh 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 NewsYou 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 | FortuneA 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.
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 MutzenbergHis conduct had been inspired by "power illicitly obtained."
The Life of John Marshall Volume 3 of 4 | Albert J. BeveridgeThe night has a subdued preciousness, like an illicitly pregnant womans.
I, Mary MacLane | Mary MacLaneThe average price of a two-year-old not thus illicitly vended was 70 yen.
The Foundations of Japan | J.W. Robertson ScottIt did not abolish smuggling, inasmuch as a letter might be sent illicitly for a penny.
Her Majesty's Mails | William Lewins
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