How to Use illicit in a Sentence

illicit

adjective
Definition of illicitnext
Synonyms for illicitnext
  • She had an illicit affair with her boss.
  • He was arrested for selling illicit copies of the software.
  • The anger of some herders doesn’t stop at the illicit poisoning of snow leopards.
    — Ben Ayers, Outside Online, 27 July 2022
  • Take the time to speak to your kids about the dangers of illicit substances, how to avoid and manage peer pressure, and what to look for.
    — Nickolaus Hayes, New York Daily News, 16 June 2024
  • Further, a loss of access could drive some to seek illicit sources of the drugs, which could turn deadly.
    — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 14 June 2024
  • This week's deaths are the latest tragedy in India's long battle to control the illicit trade.
    — Swati Gupta and Rhea Mogul, CNN, 27 July 2022
  • The exact nature of the documents accessed in the hack is not yet known, nor the exact date of the illicit access.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 30 Dec. 2024
  • There was a crackle of illicit energy from the big man.
    — Kevin Barry, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
  • Picture a flask of vodka passed across a corpse, a pool of blood lit up by neon signs, an illicit kiss soundtracked by screams.
    — Mikaella Clements & Onjuli Datta, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
  • Xi agreed to help curb the production of the illicit fentanyl that is a deadly component of drugs sold in the United States.
    — Chris Megerian, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2023
  • Used syringes contain residue or small amounts of illicit drugs and having one of those could lead to a drug posession charge.
    — Georgea Kovanis, Detroit Free Press, 13 May 2024
  • Law enforcement, meanwhile, has been unable to keep up with the spread of illicit sales and growing.
    — Michael R. Blood, Fortune, 1 Feb. 2024
  • So far however, the stream of illicit substances has not ceased.
    — Hira Humayun and Caitlin Hu, CNN, 20 Sep. 2022
  • In most of the trials, the charges were significantly reduced or outright dropped when the illicit use of snitches in the case came to light.
    — Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2023
  • That year, the ship made three illicit coal runs to North Korea, according to researchers.
    — Dera Menra Sijabat, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2023
  • The bliss of first bites, illicit cherries jubilee, Miyazaki’s gluttons ... and the crookie?
    — Laurie Ochoa, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024
  • The Colorado State Patrol is on track to seize 300 percent more illicit fentanyl this year than last.
    — Chris Dorsey, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2022
  • And illicit funds, like those from theft, phishing or ponzi schemes, account for $8 million, or 0.02%.
    — Taylor Locke, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2022
  • The Sinaloa cartel has been not only one of the main purveyors of fentanyl to the U.S. market but a key supplier of illicit drugs around the world.
    — Eduardo Porter, Washington Post, 30 July 2024
  • The smuggling of illicit drugs, including deadly fentanyl, has been on the rise as well.
    — Kelly Laco, Fox News, 26 July 2022
  • Late in the season, Cruz tumbles into an illicit affair with someone at the heart of her mission.
    — Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2023
  • The Justice Department will have final say over whether to pursue the death penalty for Dominguez-Nieves, who was not on the boat during the illicit trip.
    — Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 25 June 2024
  • Anyway, the tryst becomes illicit, which is the point for Candy. Candy decides to take a shower.
    — Tommy Cummings, Dallas News, 28 Apr. 2023
  • But Thai gun experts say most illicit firearms are used for crimes other than homicide.
    — Time, 6 Oct. 2022
  • And there are a lot of counterfeit pills on the market and some of those counterfeit pills have fentanyl and other kind of scary illicit stuff in them.
    — ABC News, 13 Oct. 2022
  • Many captains now carry illicit firecrackers on board to throw at the whales.
    — Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 29 May 2024
  • But that decision took time to evolve and not from a desire to strike an illicit deal to cheat the system, Huffman insisted.
    — Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Dec. 2023
  • That’s a joy that pervades the book, despite a subplot involving an illicit romance that ends in tragedy.
    — Chelsea Leu, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2024
  • Huge amounts of illicit materials, yards and yards of this wretched stuff.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 20 July 2023
  • Once seldom seen outside medical settings, fentanyl is now as common in illicit street sales as cocaine, methamphetamine and other drugs.
    — Dan Sullivan, Orlando Sentinel, 26 Dec. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'illicit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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