Licit

//ˈlɪs.ɪt// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Not forbidden by formal or informal rules.

    "Undated, Pope Honorius III Solet Annuere (anonymous translator), Let it not be in any way licit to anyone among men to infringe this page of our confirmation, or to contravene it with rash daring."

  2. 2
    Explicitly established or constituted by law.

    "The contract validly made and consummated is dissolved by death alone. However, the Church must determine what is required for a valid and licit marriage contract."

Adjective
  1. 1
    authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law wordnet
  2. 2
    sanctioned by custom or morality especially sexual morality wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
lawfullegitimatelegitimateacceptableactionableadmissible

Example

More examples

"No circumstance, no purpose, no law whatsoever can ever make licit an act which is intrinsically illicit."

Etymology

From Latin licitus (“lawful”), perfect participle of licet (“[it] is permitted”, impersonal verb).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.