elicit
/ɪˈlɪsɪt/
"elicit" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“elicit” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #25,372 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #25,372
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To evoke, educe (emotions, feelings, responses, etc.); to generate, obtain, or provoke as a response or answer.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | elicit |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɪˈlɪsɪt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #25,372 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “elicit” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for elicit is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪˈlɪsɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #25,372 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for elicit, with forms such as "eilcit", "elciit", and "eliccit". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "evict", "elixir", "elitist", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin elicitus from eliciō (“draw forth”). The correct English form is elicit, spelled E-L-I-C-I-T.
Definition
- 1To evoke, educe (emotions, feelings, responses, etc.); to generate, obtain, or provoke as a response or answer.
- 2To draw out, bring out, bring forth (something latent); to obtain information from someone or something.
- 3To use logic to arrive at truth; to derive by reason.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin elicitus from eliciō (“draw forth”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: eilcit,elciit,eliccit,elicitt,elicti,eliict,ellicit,leicit
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of elicit - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "elicit"?
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Using “elicit”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-L-I-C-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪˈlɪsɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “evict” - see the side-by-side comparison. elicit vs evict
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.