illicit

UK/ɪˈlɪsɪt/US/ɪˈlɪsɪt/

adjectiveC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,531 of 15,258leans written

Illicit means forbidden by law or by custom. Illicit drugs, an illicit affair, illicit trade.

It covers the unlawful and the merely disapproved of, which is why an illicit affair is not a crime and illicit drugs are. It is not the same word as elicit, which is a verb meaning to draw out, and the two are confused in writing constantly.

Definitions of illicit

1adjectiveillicitForbidden by law or by custom.C1
“Customs officers found illicit cigarettes hidden in the back of the lorry.”

illicit is a quality.

Where it comes from

Latin illicitus, il-, not, plus licitus, allowed, from licere, to be permitted. Licence is a relative.

Latin
illicitus
French
illicite
English, today
illicit

Built from

in- · Latin — not
licitus · Latin — allowed, permitted
licet · Latin — it is allowed

French illicite, from Latin illicitus, from in- (“not”) + licitus (“allowed, permitted”), from licet (“it is allowed”). by surface analysis, il- + licit.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

illicit in the wild

Some actions can be illicit, but still be valid.
Validity and liceity
There are several economic models used to provide estimates of illicit financial flows and capital flight.
Illicit financial flows
Baker, Director of the Global Financial Integrity estimated illicit financial flows "out of developing countries are approximately $1 trillion a year".
Illicit financial flows
The Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products is a 2012 World Health Organization treaty, designed to combat the worldwide illicit tobacco trade.
Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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