What does solicited mean?
Solicited means that something has been deliberately requested, invited, or actively sought. It is especially common in formal and administrative contexts involving proposals, applications, bids, contributions, testimony, or feedback. A solicited proposal, for example, was submitted after the prospective submitter was asked or encouraged to provide one, whereas an unsolicited proposal arrived without such encouragement. The term can also describe attention or advice explicitly requested from someone. As the past tense and past participle of the verb solicit, it refers to having asked for or tried to obtain something, often money, support, information, or a response. In ordinary conversation, unsolicited is the more familiar contrasting term, especially for emails, gifts, opinions, and professional approaches. Solicit carries a formal tone and may suggest persistence or purposeful effort to secure the desired response, making it especially common in legal, commercial, and institutional writing.
Having been requested, invited, or actively sought.
"The committee reviewed each solicited application before making a decision."
Formal; commonly contrasts with unsolicited.
Past tense and past participle of solicit: asked for or tried to obtain.
"The campaign solicited donations from local businesses."
Often used in formal contexts involving funds, support, applications, proposals, or responses.
A solicited compliment is a compliment you asked for—an impressive distinction in the language of praise.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does solicited come from?
Solicited derives from the Latin past participle sollicitatus, from sollicitare, a word related to sollicitus, meaning “troubled, anxious, or eager.” The Latin verb originally conveyed concern or carefulness and later came to mean to request or seek something, including support or payment. English adopted solicit in the 16th century, and the family developed through forms such as solicitation, solicitor, and solicitous.
Related word forms
How solicited is actually used
The adjective is formal and especially common in business, legal, academic, and administrative contexts. It is frequently opposed to unsolicited and can imply that effort was made to obtain a response or submission.
Easily confused with solicited
Solicited means deliberately requested or sought, whereas unsolicited means offered or received without being asked for.
Solicited refers to something that has been requested, while solicitous describes someone who is attentive, concerned, or eager to help.