“Elicit” or “Illicit”—Which to use?

“Elicit” or “Illicit”

Overview

elicit / illicit are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

elicit: (verb) derive by reason.

illicit: (adjective) contrary to accepted morality (especially sexual morality) or convention.

Pronunciation

elicit: ih·l·IH·s·ih·t

illicit: ih·l·IH·s·ah·t

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Examples in Context

Examples of “elicit”

…guidance to teachers is to elicit students' ideas as part of…
…MRI is usually performed to elicit whether there is a structural…
To better elicit a more emotional response with…
…field examination, the physician may elicit an enlarged blind spot; the…

Examples of “illicit”

…punishing political offenders, political henchmen, illicit fortune amassers and high-ranking officials…
Illicit drugs:
The Illicit Happiness of Other People
The Illicit Happiness of Other People is…
…cocaine shipments; minor producer of illicit opium poppy and cannabis for…
…organizations (see also North Korea's illicit activities)Jongro street gang
…debate over the use of illicit drugs.
…it the right to seize illicit editions and bar the publication…
The team also receives some illicit behind-the-scenes help from black county…
…in NSW by providing lucrative illicit criminal distribution networks for the…

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

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