Make Your Point > Archived Issues > TACIT
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Something tacit is unspoken; it's understood without words.
We got the word "tacit" from the Latin tacere--"to be silent, to say nothing"--which also gave us the word r_tic__t ("quiet and secretive, unwilling to share thoughts or feelings") and tacit___ ("very quiet, not chatty").
Pondering all these words about silence definitely puts me in the mood for a hand or two of Unspeakable Words. C is for Cthulhu!
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"TACIT"
Something tacit is silent, wordless, expressed indirectly, or understood but not talked about.
Pronunciation:
TASS it
Part of speech:
Adjective: "their tacit agreement," "their encouragement was tacit."
Other forms:
tacitly, tacitness
How to use it:
We use this common but formal word to talk about tacit acknowledgements and understandings; tacit agreements and tacit admissions; and tacit acceptance, permission, consent, approval, encouragement, support, and endorsements.
Less commonly, we talk about tacit concerns, tacit reminders, tacit rules and expectations, etc. If it's expressed without words, you can call it tacit.
examples:
"I read Archie comics voraciously in the '90s, and my parents have held onto them. In hindsight, they can be funny, but they're also sexist and violent...Keeping them seems like a tacit endorsement of their values. I don't really want my daughter reading them!"
— Reader, Slate, 4 March 2019
"In the final phase, from 1874 to 1877, Reconstruction's opponents abandoned their tacit collaboration and campaigned instead as out-and-out Democrats determined to destroy the remaining Reconstruction governments..."
— James W. Ely Jr. and Bradley G. Bond, The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, 2014
has this page helped you understand "tacit"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "tacit" without saying "unspoken" or "wordless."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "In a tacit understanding, (someone) (is allowed to do something) as long as (some condition is met)."
Example: "In a tacit understanding, we were allowed to talk, laugh, and play music in class as long as we turned in our assignments before the bell rang."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month is "Inspired by, but in no way associated with, the game show Chain Reaction."
In each issue, try filling in both puzzles—the easier one and the tougher one—by supplying the terms to complete the chains.
From the previous issue:
An easier puzzle:
Fruitless
S_____
Party
A tougher puzzle:
Idyllic
L___
E_________
Bias
Answers:
Fruitless
Search
Party
(That one ended up kinda dark!)
Idyllic
Life
Expectancy
Bias
Give these a try today:
An easier puzzle:
Inciting
C____
Theory
A tougher puzzle:
Notorious
C_______
J______
League
review this word:
1. The opposite of TACIT is
A. CHATTY.
B. VISUAL.
C. EXPLICIT.
2. She _____, a tacit _____.
A. spoke animatedly and gestured often .. storyteller
B. refused to answer the questions .. admission of guilt
C. answered the phone immediately .. breathlessness in her voice
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Something tacit is unspoken; it's understood without words.
"TACIT" Something tacit is silent, wordless, expressed indirectly, or understood but not talked about.
"I read Archie comics voraciously in the '90s, and my parents have held onto them. In hindsight, they can be funny, but they're also sexist and violent...Keeping them seems like a tacit endorsement of their values. I don't really want my daughter reading them!"
Explain the meaning of "tacit" without saying "unspoken" or "wordless."
Fill in the blanks: "In a tacit understanding, (someone) (is allowed to do something) as long as (some condition is met)."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. The opposite of TACIT is
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