If you refer to someone's tacit agreement or approval, you mean they are agreeing to something or approving it without actually saying so, often because they are unwilling to admit to doing so.
The question was a tacit admission that a mistake had indeed been made.
The rebels enjoyed the tacit support of elements in the army.
Synonyms: implied, understood, implicit, silent More Synonyms of tacit
tacitlyadverb [ADVERB with verb]
He tacitly admitted that the government had breached regulations.
tacit in British English
(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
Derived forms
tacitly (ˈtacitly)
adverb
tacitness (ˈtacitness)
noun
Word origin
C17: from Latin tacitus, past participle of tacēre to be silent
tacit in American English
(ˈtæsɪt)
adjective
1. Rare
saying nothing; still
2.
unspoken; silent
3.
not expressed or declared openly, but implied or understood
tacit approval
4. Law
happening without contract but by operation of law
Derived forms
tacitly (ˈtacitly)
adverb
tacitness (ˈtacitness)
noun
Word origin
< Fr or L: Fr tacite < L tacitus, pp. of tacere, to be silent < IE base *takē-, to be silent > Goth thahan, ON thegja
Examples of 'tacit' in a sentence
tacit
Being in this film, then, is tacit approval of what the film is trying to say.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Both sides often come to a tacit agreement over a result.
John Foot Calcio: A History of Italian Football (2006)
The move has tacit support from at least one government minister.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Rights groups called it a major error of judgment that gave tacit support to the regime.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Why give tacit approval to the shabby treatment meted out to savers?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It seemed that from the top there was tacit approval of doping.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It is a retreat inward and a tacit approval of injustice in society.
Christianity Today (2000)
But London is providing encouragement to the fighters and tacit support for their funders.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
They are the ones that are the problem, because they give tacit approval to the extremes.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
His comments seem intended to lend weight to his argument that he acted with the tacit approval of bank executives, according to lawyers.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Since then the centre-right government has relied for its survival on the party's tacit support.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It is hard to stay in power in Pakistan without the tacit support of the Army.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
It was, and remains, a struggle to obtain at least the tacit support of the population.
Richard Holmes Dusty Warriors: Modern Soldiers at War (2006)
Such co-ordination would have the tacit support of the TUC.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In other languages
tacit
British English: tacit ADJECTIVE
If you refer to someone's tacit agreement or approval, you mean they are agreeing to something or approving it without actually saying so, often because they are unwilling to admit to doing so.
The question was a tacit admission that a mistake had indeed been made.
American English: tacit
Brazilian Portuguese: tácito
Chinese: 默许的
European Spanish: tácito
French: tacite
German: stillschweigend
Italian: tacito
Japanese: 暗黙のうちの
Korean: 무언의
European Portuguese: tácito
Latin American Spanish: tácito
(adjective)
Definition
understood or implied without actually being stated
a tacit admission that a mistake had been made
Synonyms
implied
She felt undermined by the implied criticism.
understood
The technical equality of all officers was understood.
implicit
She wanted to make explicit in the film what was implicit in the play.
silent
He watched with silent contempt.
taken for granted
unspoken
There had been an unspoken agreement between them.
inferred
undeclared
wordless
unstated
unexpressed
Opposites
stated
,
spoken
,
explicit
,
expressed
,
spelled-out
Additional synonyms
in the sense of implicit
Definition
expressed indirectly
She wanted to make explicit in the film what was implicit in the play.
Synonyms
implied,
understood,
suggested,
hinted at,
taken for granted,
unspoken,
inferred,
tacit,
undeclared,
insinuated,
unstated,
unsaid,
unexpressed
in the sense of silent
Definition
not spoken
He watched with silent contempt.
Synonyms
unspoken,
implied,
implicit,
tacit,
understood,
unexpressed
in the sense of understood
Definition
implied or inferred
The technical equality of all officers was understood.
Synonyms
implied,
implicit,
unspoken,
inferred,
tacit,
unstated
Synonyms of 'tacit'
tacit
Explore 'tacit' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of unspoken
Definition
not openly expressed
There had been an unspoken agreement between them.