WORD OF THE DAY: TACIT
Tacit is a formal adjective used to describe something that is expressed or understood without being directly stated.
// As roommates, we had a tacit agreement that we would never pry into each other’s affairs.
EXAMPLES OF TACIT
“Where modern documentaries are slick productions filled with preconceived notions, embedded narratives, and tacit approval of their subjects, [Frederick] Wiseman’s work is slow, contemplative, and refreshingly slant-free.” — Kevin Slane, Boston.com, 24 Feb. 2026.
DID YOU KNOW?
In the first chapter of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, the narrator Mr. Lockwood recounts warily encountering three dogs. Although he was sure to sit still, he admits that “imagining they would scarcely understand tacit insults, I unfortunately indulged in winking and making faces at the trio” (one subsequently leapt onto his knees in fury). His tacit insults were, by the relevant definition of tacit, not expressed with words (instead he used facial expressions). Tacit can also mean “implied or indicated (as by an act or by silence) but not expressed,” as when a tacit agreement is understood without being directly stated, and tacit approval is silently granted. Tacit traces back to the Latin verb tacēre, meaning “to be silent,” which is also the ancestor of the English adjective taciturn, used to describe someone who tends to be quiet.
Merriam Webster Dictionary
