--- 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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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=487bb24c-585d-43c9-ab0c-25a13e62bef7&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  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"}}]}] ```