Synonym Chooser

How is the word licit different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of licit are lawful, legal, and legitimate. While all these words mean "being in accordance with law," licit applies to a strict conformity to the provisions of the law and applies especially to what is regulated by law.

the licit use of drugs by doctors

When is it sensible to use lawful instead of licit?

The words lawful and licit can be used in similar contexts, but lawful may apply to conformity with law of any sort (such as natural, divine, common, or canon).

the lawful sovereign

In what contexts can legal take the place of licit?

While in some cases nearly identical to licit, legal applies to what is sanctioned by law or in conformity with the law, especially as it is written or administered by the courts.

legal residents of the state

Where would legitimate be a reasonable alternative to licit?

Although the words legitimate and licit have much in common, legitimate may apply to a legal right or status but also, in extended use, to a right or status supported by tradition, custom, or accepted standards.

a perfectly legitimate question about taxes

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of licit Saulnier’s script suggests his thorough research into the fine points of police procedure, licit and illicit, and likewise into the intricacies of judicial authority and hand-to-hand combat (including minutiae about firearms and ammunition). Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2024 In Guerrero, more than 65% live in poverty, and around 40 criminal groups operate in different licit and illicit activities, according to the International Crisis Group. Karol Suárez, The Courier-Journal, 25 Apr. 2024 Farmers upstate were growing fields of licit marijuana! Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024 In trying to please its senior ranks, the army has allowed officers to benefit from criminal enterprises—the army helps preside over Myanmar’s licit and illicit economies. Avinash Paliwal, Foreign Affairs, 24 Jan. 2024 But animals’ taste for human goods — licit and illicit — can also bring trouble for them and for us. Emily Anthes, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2023 The only morally licit treatment of an ectopic pregnancy, for a Catholic, besides watch and wait, is the salpingectomy, on the basis that the demise of the pregnancy is an indirect effect of acting to preserve the mother’s life. Joanna Petrone, Longreads, 18 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for licit
Adjective
  • The president cannot weaponize the IRS by directing audits or stripping away tax-exempt status without due process and legitimate reasons.
    Sharon Lerner, ProPublica, 22 Apr. 2025
  • The nation-state is widely seen as the most legitimate, successful, and just form of political order, but Pagden catalogs the often violent and coercive ways in which cultural and ethnic groups were corralled into sovereign territorial states.
    Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Kemsley, citing irreconcilable differences, is also requesting that her ex pay her legal fees.
    Jay Stahl, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2025
  • The two were engaged in legal battles for years, but Giuffre finally settled, admitting that she might have been mistaken in identifying Dershowitz as an abuser.
    Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • These refugees, most of whom are women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities, fled an active war zone through a lawful program initiated by the U.S. government.
    Andy J. Semotiuk, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
  • In the government’s memo filed Thursday, Rubio cited an obscure provision in the law giving his office the power to deport noncitizens whose activities, even if lawful, could pose unfavorable foreign policy consequences.
    Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 11 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Licit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/licit. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on licit

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!