Question

elsewhere in africa, elephant poaching for ivory has been rampant, with asia also the main market for the illicit commodity. source: reuters
in the sentence above, illicit has the same or almost the same meaning as:
melancholy
traditional
prohibited
expensive

Explanation:

The word "illicit" means something that is illegal or not permitted. Among the options, "prohibited" has a similar meaning as it also refers to something that is not allowed. "Melancholy" refers to sadness, "traditional" to something based on tradition, and "expensive" to high - cost, none of which are related to the meaning of "illicit".

Answer:

C. prohibited