Illicit — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

contrary to accepted morality (especially sexual morality) or convention

contrary to or forbidden by law

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ɪlˈɪsɪt/

🇬🇧British English

/ɪlˈɪsɪt/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ɪlˈɪsɪt/

3 syllables Say it as /ɪlˈɪsɪt/.

Examples

an illicit association with his secretary
an illegitimate seizure of power
illicit trade

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

illegitimate outlawed unlawful outlaw

Antonyms

licit

Parts of Speech

adjective	contrary to accepted morality (especially sexual morality) or convention “an illicit association with his secretary”
adjective	contrary to or forbidden by law “an illegitimate seizure of power”

Word Forms

illicitness	noun	the quality of not conforming strictly to law
outlaw	noun	someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
unlawfulness	noun	the quality of failing to conform to law

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

illegal

im Widerspruch zur anerkannten Moral (insbesondere der Sexualmoral) oder Konvention

🇫🇷French

illicite

contraire à la moralité acceptée (en particulier la moralité sexuelle) ou aux conventions

🇪🇸Spanish

ilícito

contrario a la moral aceptada (especialmente la moral sexual) o convención

🇮🇹Italian

illecito

contrariamente alla moralità accettata (soprattutto alla moralità sessuale) o alle convenzioni

🇳🇱Dutch

onwettig

in strijd met de geaccepteerde moraal (vooral de seksuele moraal) of conventie

🇵🇹Portuguese

ilícito

contrário à moralidade aceita (especialmente a moralidade sexual) ou convenção

🇷🇺Russian

незаконный

противоречит общепринятой морали (особенно сексуальной морали) или условностям

India

🇮🇳Hindi

अवैध

स्वीकृत नैतिकता (विशेषकर यौन नैतिकता) या परंपरा के विपरीत

🇧🇩Bengali

অবৈধ

গৃহীত নৈতিকতা (বিশেষ করে যৌন নৈতিকতা) বা নিয়মের বিপরীত

🇮🇳Tamil

சட்டவிரோத

ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப்பட்ட ஒழுக்கம் (குறிப்பாக பாலியல் ஒழுக்கம்) அல்லது மாநாட்டிற்கு முரணானது

🇮🇳Telugu

అక్రమ

ఆమోదించబడిన నైతికత (ముఖ్యంగా లైంగిక నైతికత) లేదా సమావేశానికి విరుద్ధంగా

🇮🇳Marathi

बेकायदेशीर

स्वीकृत नैतिकता (विशेषतः लैंगिक नैतिकता) किंवा अधिवेशनाच्या विरुद्ध

🇮🇳Gujarati

ગેરકાયદે

સ્વીકૃત નૈતિકતા (ખાસ કરીને જાતીય નૈતિકતા) અથવા સંમેલનથી વિપરીત

🇮🇳Kannada

ಅಕ್ರಮ

ಸ್ವೀಕೃತ ನೈತಿಕತೆ (ವಿಶೇಷವಾಗಿ ಲೈಂಗಿಕ ನೈತಿಕತೆ) ಅಥವಾ ಸಂಪ್ರದಾಯಕ್ಕೆ ವಿರುದ್ಧವಾಗಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

നിയമവിരുദ്ധമായ

അംഗീകൃത ധാർമ്മികത (പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് ലൈംഗിക സദാചാരം) അല്ലെങ്കിൽ കൺവെൻഷൻ വിരുദ്ധമാണ്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਨਾਜਾਇਜ਼

ਪ੍ਰਵਾਨਿਤ ਨੈਤਿਕਤਾ (ਖਾਸ ਕਰਕੇ ਜਿਨਸੀ ਨੈਤਿਕਤਾ) ਜਾਂ ਸੰਮੇਲਨ ਦੇ ਉਲਟ

🇵🇰Urdu

غیر قانونی

قبول شدہ اخلاقیات (خاص طور پر جنسی اخلاقیات) یا کنونشن کے خلاف

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

非法的

违反公认的道德（尤其是性道德）或惯例

🇯🇵Japanese

違法な

受け入れられた道徳（特に性道徳）または慣習に反する

🇰🇷Korean

불법

인정된 도덕(특히 성적 도덕)이나 관습에 반하는 것

🇻🇳Vietnamese

bất hợp pháp

trái với đạo đức được chấp nhận (đặc biệt là đạo đức tình dục) hoặc quy ước

🇹🇭Thai

ผิดกฎหมาย

ขัดต่อศีลธรรมอันเป็นที่ยอมรับ (โดยเฉพาะศีลธรรมทางเพศ) หรือแบบแผน

🇮🇩Indonesian

gelap

bertentangan dengan moralitas yang diterima (terutama moralitas seksual) atau konvensi

🇵🇭Filipino

bawal

salungat sa tinatanggap na moralidad (lalo na sa sekswal na moralidad) o kumbensyon

🇲🇾Malay

haram

bertentangan dengan moral yang diterima (terutamanya moral seksual) atau konvensyen

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

غير مشروع

يتعارض مع الأخلاق المقبولة (وخاصة الأخلاق الجنسية) أو الاتفاقية

🇮🇷Persian

غیر قانونی

برخلاف اخلاق پذیرفته شده (به ویژه اخلاق جنسی) یا قرارداد

🇹🇷Turkish

yasa dışı

kabul edilen ahlaka (özellikle cinsel ahlaka) veya geleneklere aykırı

🇮🇱Hebrew

לֹא חוּקִי

בניגוד למוסר המקובל (בעיקר למוסר המיני) או למוסכמה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'illicit'?

The primary meaning of 'illicit' is 'contrary to accepted morality (especially sexual morality) or convention'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'illicit' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'illicit' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'illicit' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'illicit' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'illicit' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'illicit' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'illicit' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'illicit' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'illicit' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'illicit' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted