tacitly

[tas-it-lee]

adverb

1. without saying so; silently.

   We both knew we had different views on the subject, and tacitly agreed not to make it an issue.

2. in a way that is partly unconscious or cannot be explained in words.

   The hardest tasks to automate are those demanding skills that we understand only tacitly.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tacitly¹

tacit ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Ms. Low tacitly admits that the prevailing culture has been overselling the rewards of work—and playing down the importance of relationships, i.e., marriage and children, as a cornerstone of a woman’s happiness.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

I was assaulted last week by anti-Israel marchers at the kind of rally Mr. Mamdani attended, then encouraged, and then endorsed only tacitly as he came under pressure.

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He and Scheffler lost, and the mistake was tacitly acknowledged on Saturday when they played together again but traded places.

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Yet Ye has tacitly given it his blessing: After watching the finished cut, he texted Ballesteros, “That doc was very deep. It was like being dead and looking back on my life.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

That, however, is the conclusion of virtually all of American journalism, because there is a deep-seated taboo that has become all the stronger for being tacitly accepted.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• softly