tactful
Americanadjective
Synonym Usage
See diplomatic.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of tactful
Explanation
If you are tactful, you have a knack for saying the right thing at the right time. A tactful person is appropriate and sensitive, never rude or careless. Tactful means "full of tact." What's tact? It's the gift for saying the right thing because you understand what the situation calls for. So, if you are tactful, you wouldn't tell your friend that the food at her party was awful — you'd talk about the interesting conversation you had and the great music. But even when tactful people have to give criticism, they do it in such a way that the other person doesn't get offended.
Vocabulary lists containing tactful
100 Top "SAT" Words
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Power Suffix: -ful
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Tactful Dr. Funk proclaimed at a Turkish banquet last week: "The principal desire of Germany is establishment of the closest possible cooperation among the nations�thus leading to their Welfare, Peace and Happiness."
From Time Magazine Archive
Tactful, the State Clothing Trust spokesman did not suggest that modish men and women are wasting money in their striving for style and chic.
From Time Magazine Archive
Tactful, when as King he took the Oath before the House of Lords he so mumbled the passages denouncing the Roman Catholic faith that no one could hear a word of it.
From Time Magazine Archive
Tactful and unobtrusive, Jesse Jones did not act like a revolutionary.
From Time Magazine Archive
Tactful, refined, they are at this very moment as thoughtful as they ever were before.
From Rambles in Womanland by O'Rell, Max
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
