tacit

[tas-it]

adjective

1. understood without being openly expressed; implied.

   tacit approval.

   Synonyms: implicit, unsaid, unspoken, unexpressed

2. silent; saying nothing.

   a tacit partner.

3. unvoiced or unspoken.

   a tacit prayer.

tacit

/ ˈtæsɪt /

adjective

1. implied or inferred without direct expression; understood

   a tacit agreement

2. created or having effect by operation of law, rather than by being directly expressed

Other Word Forms

• tacitly adverb
• tacitness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tacit¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin tacitus “silent,” past participle of tacēre “to be silent” (cognate with Gothic thahan; akin to Old Norse thegja )

Word History and Origins

Origin of tacit¹

C17: from Latin tacitus, past participle of tacēre to be silent

Example Sentences

Prediction marketers tell courts that the CFTC’s lack of objections connotes tacit approval.

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His antipathy to Israel, and his tacit support for “globalizing the intifada,” may send a signal to the New York City Police Department that protecting Jews won’t be a priority for the city.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A failure to act is a tacit endorsement of a future that looks too much like Europe or Canada, where the six megabanks control more than 90% of the country’s bank assets.

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This is a tacit admission that ObamaCare encourages Americans to stop working.

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How these features combine to improve efficiency depends on human ingenuity, imagination, tenacity and that elusive thing called “tacit knowledge” that comes from experience.

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Related Words

• implicit 
• implied 
• indirect 
• unspoken