tacit

tac·it

adjective \ˈta-sət\

Definition of TACIT

1

: expressed or carried on without words or speech <the blush was a tacit answer — Bram Stoker>

2

: implied or indicated (as by an act or by silence) but not actually expressed <tacit consent> <tacit admission of guilt>

— tac·it·ly adverb

— tac·it·ness noun

Examples of TACIT

1. She felt that she had her parents' tacit approval to borrow the car.
2. There was a tacit agreement that he would pay off the loan.
3. While they got a frosty public response, officials say the private message was a tacit green light. —Mark Thompson, Time, 16 Nov. 1998
4. Magic requires tacit cooperation of the audience with the magician—an abandonment of skepticism … the willing suspension of disbelief. —Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World, 1996
5. What a writer must always remember, however, is that with rare exceptions—Edith Wharton then, Louis Auchincloss now—he or she is never really in society; a temporary visa is issued with the tacit stipulation that it will be withdrawn and access denied if confidences are betrayed. —John Gregory Dunne, Harp, 1989
6. Myself, I like to play the field and see what happens, but there are certain tacit rules: do not mix freshwater fish with those from the sea; do not mix coarse fat fish with delicate ones … —M.F.K. Fisher, With Bold Knife and Fork, 1969

Origin of TACIT

Middle French or Latin; Middle French tacite, from Latin tacitus silent, from past participle of tacēre to be silent; akin to Old High German dagēn to be silent

First Known Use: 1576

Related to TACIT

Synonyms

implied, implicit, unexpressed, unspoken, unvoiced, wordless

Antonyms

explicit, express, expressed, spoken, stated, voiced

Related Words

inferred, presumed; construed, interpreted; unannounced, undeclared, unsaid, untold; hinted, insinuated, intimated, suggested

Near Antonyms

apparent, blatant, evident, manifest, obvious, plain, straightforward; unambiguous, unequivocal, unmistakable

Rhymes with TACIT

facet