--- title: Complicit Definition, SNL Ivanka Trump Skit VIDEO description: Merriam-Webster reports a spike in lookups for the word "complicit" after an SNL skit starring Scarlett Johansson as Ivanka Trump. canonical: https://time.com/4699577/complicit-definition-snl-ivanka-trump/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-13T16:08:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:41:50.540Z og:title: People Search for Complicit After That Ivanka Trump SNL Skit og:description: Lookups for "complicit" have spiked, according to Merriam-Webster. og:url: https://time.com/4699577/complicit-definition-snl-ivanka-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45222cee7f0be3fc/6988be18fb4eac4c0e89116e/ivanka-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3373 og:image:height: 1897 og:image:alt: TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: People Search for Complicit After That Ivanka Trump SNL Skit twitter:description: Lookups for "complicit" have spiked, according to Merriam-Webster. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45222cee7f0be3fc/6988be18fb4eac4c0e89116e/ivanka-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Apparently People Are Searching for 'Complicit' After That _SNL_ Sketch Targeted Ivanka Trump > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 13, 2017 4:08 PM UTC  President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka walk to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2017. President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka walk to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2017. Nicholas Kamm—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 13, 2017 4:08 PM UTC This Saturday’s [_Saturday Night Live_](http://time.com/4699110/snl-ivanka-trump-scarlett-johansson/), hosted by [Scarlett Johansson](http://motto.time.com/4695412/scarlett-johansson-divorce-romain-dauriac-comment/), had some pointed commentary on First Daughter [Ivanka Trump](http://time.com/4671007/kellyanne-conway-government-ethics-discipline-ivanka-trump/) with a faux commercial featuring a new “perfume.” Called “Complicit,” the ad follows Scarlett-as-Ivanka as she makes her way through a gilded party scene. “The fragrance for the woman who could stop all of this, but won’t,” the voiceover narrates, referencing Ivanka’s unique evolving role [in the White House](http://motto.time.com/4440562/donald-trump-ivanka-cabinet/). Looks like viewers of the viral skit needed to double-check their vocabulary, though, because Merriam Webster has noted that searches for the fragrance name’s definition spiked over the weekend. It’s still at the top of their trending list on Monday. As the dictionary [site explains](https://www.merriam-webster.com/news-trend-watch/lookups-for-complicit-spiked-after-an-snl-sketch-used-the-word-to-describe-ivanka-trump-20170313), the word means “helping to commit a crime or do wrong in some way.” Merriam Webster traced its roots back to mid-17th century times, when the term “complicity” was used to describe “a consenting or partnership in evil.” _SNL_ has pulled no punches in [lampooning recent politics](http://time.com/4635457/saturday-night-donald-trump-press-conference-alec-baldwin/). The show also appears to be improving the national vocabulary, too. > [](https://twitter.com/MerriamWebster/status/841271451894317061) Watch the full sketch below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4699577/complicit-definition-snl-ivanka-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4699577/complicit-definition-snl-ivanka-trump/"},"headline":"Apparently People Are Searching for 'Complicit' After That SNL Sketch Targeted Ivanka Trump","datePublished":"2017-03-13T16:08:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:41:50.540Z","description":"Lookups for \"complicit\" have spiked, according to Merriam-Webster.","url":"https://time.com/4699577/complicit-definition-snl-ivanka-trump/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Late Night Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45222cee7f0be3fc/6988be18fb4eac4c0e89116e/ivanka-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45222cee7f0be3fc/6988be18fb4eac4c0e89116e/ivanka-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP","caption":"TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP","creditText":"Nicholas Kamm—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4699577/complicit-definition-snl-ivanka-trump/","name":"Apparently People Are Searching for 'Complicit' After That SNL Sketch Targeted Ivanka Trump"}}]}] ```