1
: expressed or carried on without words or speech
The blush … was a tacit answer …—
Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker2
: implied or indicated (as by an act or by silence) but not actually expressed
tacit consent
tacit admission of guilt
tacitly
adverb
tacitness
noun
Examples of tacit in a Sentence
While they got a frosty public response, officials say the private message was a tacit green light.
—Mark Thompson, Time, 16 Nov. 1998
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
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now—he or she is never really in society; a temporary visa is issued with the tacit stipulation that it will be withdrawn and access denied if confidences are betrayed.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
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
She felt that she had her parents' tacit approval to borrow the car.
There was a tacit agreement that he would pay off the loan.
Mark Thompson, Time, 16 Nov. 1998
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
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now—he or she is never really in society; a temporary visa is issued with the tacit stipulation that it will be withdrawn and access denied if confidences are betrayed.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
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
She felt that she had her parents' tacit approval to borrow the car.
There was a tacit agreement that he would pay off the loan.
Recent Examples on the Web
What is more pernicious than the denial is the tacit acceptance of his behavior in the community, as the community was the lifeblood of his art.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
Doctoral scientists represent a decade or more of training; tacit laboratory knowledge lives in working research groups, not in documents.
—Caroline Wagner, The Conversation, 24 Apr. 2026
Critics have voiced concern that Leo’s decision to visit Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, both governed by long-serving leaders who maintain tight control over the Central African nations, has given tacit approval to authoritarian regimes.
—Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026
The 1992 Consensus is a tacit agreement, never formally enshrined as a document, that Taiwan and China all belong to one China.
—Huizhong Wu, Arkansas Online, 11 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tacit
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Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
Doctoral scientists represent a decade or more of training; tacit laboratory knowledge lives in working research groups, not in documents.
—Caroline Wagner, The Conversation, 24 Apr. 2026
Critics have voiced concern that Leo’s decision to visit Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, both governed by long-serving leaders who maintain tight control over the Central African nations, has given tacit approval to authoritarian regimes.
—Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026
The 1992 Consensus is a tacit agreement, never formally enshrined as a document, that Taiwan and China all belong to one China.
—Huizhong Wu, Arkansas Online, 11 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tacit
Cite this Entry
“Tacit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tacit. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tacit
adjective
tac·it
ˈtas-ət 
1
: expressed without words or speech
2
: understood or made known (as by an act or by silence) though not actually expressed
tacit approval
tacitly
adverb
tacitness
noun
Legal Definition
tacit
adjective
tac·it
ˈta-sət
1
: implied (as by an act or by silence) rather than express
a tacit admission
2
in the civil law of Louisiana
: arising by operation of law
a tacit mortgage
tacitly
adverb
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