complicit
/kəmˈplɪs.ɪt/adjective
complicit is spelled C-O-M-P-L-I-C-I-T: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, complicit means “Associated with or participating in an activity, especially one of a questionable nature” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in complicit?
| Letters | 9: C-O-M-P-L-I-C-I-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 22,651st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is complicit?
Complicit appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce complicit?
- US /kəmˈplɪs.ɪt/
Complicit has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-complicit.ogg, En-au-complicit.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of complicit
- more complicit comparative
- most complicit superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does complicit mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Associated with or participating in an activity, especially one of a questionable nature.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Complicit in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense associated with or participating in an activity, especially one of a questionabl:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | complice |
| German | Komplize, beteiligt, mitschuldig, mit unter einer Decke steckend, mit drin steckend |
| Portuguese | cúmplice, complícito |
| Spanish | cómplice |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does complicit come from?
Most likely a back-formation from complicity, under the influence of words such as explicit, as though the suffix -ity were composed of -it (from Latin -itus) and -y.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).