elicit
v.to get a reaction, an answer, or information from someone. You use this when you do something to make a specific response happen.
v.to evoke or draw out a response, answer, or fact from someone in reaction to one's own actions or questions.
“The teacher's joke failed to elicit a laugh from the students.”
“The detective used a series of open-ended questions to elicit more details about the suspect's whereabouts.”
“The proposed changes to the local park elicited a wave of public protest, forcing the council to reconsider their development strategy.”
The verb is transitive and requires a direct object, typically an abstract noun like 'response', 'reaction', or 'information'.
elicit vs illicit — Elicit is a verb meaning to draw out a response; illicit is an adjective meaning illegal or forbidden.
Usage elicit information · elicit response
“The response usually elicited in me is “Couldn’t they find a better actor?” I’m not trying to be liked here!”
“Because the virus that causes COVID-19 (gold) and other RNA viruses enter cells through endosomes, mRNA drug impurities can elicit similar immune responses.”
Borrowed from Latin elicitus from eliciō (“draw forth”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.