illicit
/ɪˈlɪsɪt/
"illicit" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“illicit” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,498. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #16,498
- frequency rank, English
- 2,140
- “I” headwords
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Not approved by law, but not invalid.
Corpus desk
Index EN-illicit · illicit · English
illicit · rank #16,498 · 8 variants · 2 confusables
- FREQ-MID #16,498
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
- VAR-MID 8 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,140
- PHOTO-FINISH illegitimate
Nearest frequency peer: illegitimate (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “illicit”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- hound
hound
83,507 corpus weight
- hugged
hugged
83,505 corpus weight
- illegitimate
illegitimate
83,504 corpus weight
- illicit
illicit
83,503 corpus weight
- incompetence
incompetence
83,501 corpus weight
- insomnia
insomnia
83,500 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “illicit” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | illicit |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɪˈlɪsɪt/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #16,498 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “illicit” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 8 spelling variants around illicit (IPA /ɪˈlɪsɪt/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #16,498 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for illicit, with forms such as "ilicit", "ililcit", and "illciit". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "implicit", "elicit", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French illicite, from Latin illicitus, from in- (“not”) + licitus (“allowed, permitted”), from licet (“it is allowed”). By surface analysis, il- + licit. The correct English form is illicit, spelled I-L-L-I-C-I-T.
Definition
- 1Not approved by law, but not invalid.
- 2Breaking social norms.
- 3Unlawful.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how illicit appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The bigamous marriage, while illicit, was not invalid.
Such migrants may violate our laws against illicit entry, but if that's all they do then they are trespassers, not criminals.
Etymology
Borrowed from French illicite, from Latin illicitus, from in- (“not”) + licitus (“allowed, permitted”), from licet (“it is allowed”). By surface analysis, il- + licit.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ilicit
- ililcit
- illciit
- illiccit
- illicitt
- illicti
- illiict
- lilicit
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of illicit - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "illicit"?
What does "illicit" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "illicit"?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "illicit", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "illicit". Here's where to go from here.
- "illicit" maps to 2 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "implicit". View pair
- 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #16,498 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "I" letter cohort. I–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.