Etymology

Most likely a back-formation from complicityCategory:English back-formations#COMPLICIT, under the influence of words such as explicit, as though the suffix -ity were composed of -it (from Latin -itus) and -y.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /kəmˈplɪs.ɪt/Category:English 3-syllable words#COMPLICITCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#COMPLICIT

• Audio (US):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#COMPLICIT

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#COMPLICIT
• Rhymes: -ɪsɪtCategory:Rhymes:English/ɪsɪt#COMPLICITCategory:Rhymes:English/ɪsɪt/3 syllables#COMPLICIT

Adjective

complicit (comparative more complicit, superlative most complicit)Category:English lemmas#COMPLICITCategory:English adjectives#COMPLICITCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#COMPLICITCategory:Pages with entries#COMPLICITCategory:Pages with 1 entry#COMPLICIT

1. Associated with or participating in an activity, especially one of a questionable nature.
   • 1861, Henry M. Wheeler, The Slaves' Champion, page 203:

     It [slavery] has set the seal of a complicit, guilty silence upon the most orthodox pulpits and the saintliest tongues, […]

     Category:English terms with quotations#COMPLICIT

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
   • 1973, Angus Wilson, As If by Magic, Secker and Warburg, page 177:

     "I confess," and the Englishman turned with a near complicit grin to Hamo, "I have certain vulgar tastes myself."

     Category:English terms with quotations#COMPLICIT

   • 2005 March 7, Larry Dennsion, “Letters”, in Time:

     Khan's sale of nuclear secrets and a complicit Pakistani government have made the world a ticking time bomb.

     Category:English terms with quotations#COMPLICIT

   • 2023 July 26, Christian Wolmar, “Closing ticket offices to lead to 'catch-22' for passengers”, in RAIL, number 988, page 42:

     I have been critical of the RDG in the past for merely being a cypher for government announcements, but the failure of its members to make a stand on this issue and not be complicit in the Government's subterfuge is a shocking indictment of their failure to protect the industry.

     Category:English terms with quotations#COMPLICIT

References

• “complicit”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.