What’s the Difference Between Elicit and Illicit?
Elicit and illicit are homophones, meaning they are pronounced the same but have different definitions. We’ll teach you what these words mean and how to use them correctly.
The main difference between elicit and illicit is that elicit is a verb that means to “evoke or draw out a response, answer, or fact from someone,” while illicit is an adjective that means “not permitted by laws, rules, or customs.”
They were involved in illicit activities and therefore banned.
Is it elicit or illicit?
Elicit and illicit are homophones, which is why many people get these two words confused. They have the same pronunciation but different definitions. They are pronounced as /ɪˈlɪsɪt/. You can hear their pronunciation in the audio below.
Elicit | Illicit
Elicit means to “evoke or draw out a response, answer, or fact from someone.” Illicit means “not permitted by laws, rules, or customs.” Below, we’ll elaborate on the definitions and provide example sentences and synonyms.
What does elicit mean?
Elicit is a verb, which is a word that describes an action, condition, or occurrence, and it means “to evoke, draw out, or bring light to a response, answer, or fact from someone.”
For example, in the first sentence below, the lawyer is trying to bring forth a response from someone.
The clowns at the birthday party elicited laughter from all the kids.
My wife was trying to elicit a confession from our daughters because she wanted to know who it was that broke the vase.
All the flashing lights and loud music elicited a pain on the right side of my head.
There are a number of synonyms or alternative words that can be used in place of elicit, such as induce, trigger, extract, prompt, and evoke.
What does illicit mean?
Illicit is an adjective, which is a word that describes or modifies a noun (a person, place, thing, or idea). When something is illicit, that means that it is “illegal, improper, or not permitted by laws, morals, or customs.”
For example, in the first sentence below, the drugs are considered illicit because they are illegal by law.
Their illicit behavior got the students kicked out of school.
The illicit trading of arms is what Sergeant Johanson most wanted to help bring to an end.
Although the practice was considered illicit, many people hoped that it would be legalized in the near future.
Instead of illicit, you can use synonyms or alternative words, such as illegal, unlawful, criminal, prohibited, and wrongful.
Here’s how to remember the difference between elicit and illicit
There are a couple of good mnemonic devices that can help you remember which is which. For elicit, all you have to do is remember that it is a verb, which has the same vowel that the word starts with. And illicit commonly means illegal, which also starts with the letters “ill.”
Another foolproof way of never getting these two words mixed up again is by using LanguageTool as your writing assistant. Not only will this multilingual text editor correct spelling and grammar mistakes, but it’ll also provide synonyms and offer formatting suggestions to help enhance your writing.
