tact

[takt]

noun

1. a keen sense of what to say or do to avoid giving offense; skill in dealing with difficult or delicate situations.

   Synonyms: poise, diplomacy, sensitivity, perception

2. a keen sense of what is appropriate, tasteful, or aesthetically pleasing; taste; discrimination.

3. touch or the sense of touch.

tact

/ tækt /

noun

1. a sense of what is fitting and considerate in dealing with others, so as to avoid giving offence or to win good will; discretion

2. skill or judgment in handling difficult or delicate situations; diplomacy

Other Word Forms

• tactfully adverb
• tactful adjective
• tactfulness noun
• tactless adjective
• tactlessness noun
• tactlessly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of tact¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; from Latin tāctus “sense of touch,” equivalent to tag-, variant stem of tangere “to touch” + -tus suffix of verbal action

Word History and Origins

Origin of tact¹

C17: from Latin tactus a touching, from tangere to touch

Example Sentences

What distinguishes Mr. Zipperstein’s volume—composed with the tact of a historian who has read the archives and the novels with equal care—is how deliberately it resists the temptations that have undone earlier efforts.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But this tact has landed her in hot water, not only with her opponents, but also in her home province of Alberta and with politicians who otherwise share her political leanings.

Read more on BBC

“We’re going to have some extra tact,” Nourparvar said, “when it comes to something that we feel heavily affects us or our friends.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Banksy’s art, which tends to be graffitied by the artist on public buildings, at times does not remain in tact for long.

Read more on BBC

And judicial tact, he said, required him to suppress his increasing discomfort with the direction of the Supreme Court.

Read more on New York Times

Related Words

• common-sense 
• discretion 
• prudence 
• refinement 
• sensitivity 
• subtlety