tacit

5 antonyms for tacit — opposites grouped by meaning.

Adjective — Understood or agreed without being said aloud or written down.

Synonyms by Meaning

1. adjective

Understood or agreed without being said aloud or written down.

“There was a tacit agreement that nobody would mention the argument again.”

unspoken implicit implied understood unstated silent

Opposites

explicit stated express spoken

2. adjective specialist

Of knowledge or skill: held by experience and difficult to write down or teach directly.

“Much of what a good nurse knows is tacit knowledge picked up on the ward.”

experiential intuitive

Opposites

codified explicit

Antonyms

explicit stated express spoken codified

How to use tacit

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

tacit agreement tacit approval tacit consent tacit knowledge tacit understanding

Formal to neutral; common in legal, business and academic writing.

Etymology

From Latin tacitus "silent, passed over in silence", the past participle of tacere "to be silent".

Full origin of tacit →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between tacit and implicit?

They overlap heavily. "Implicit" means contained in something without being stated, and can apply to a text or a rule. "Tacit" specifically means agreed or accepted without anyone speaking, so it fits agreements, consent and approval best.

What is the difference between tacit and taciturn?

They share a Latin root but differ in use. Tacit describes something unspoken — a tacit agreement. Taciturn describes a person who says very little by nature — a taciturn colleague.

What is tacit knowledge?

It is know-how that people acquire through practice and can rarely put into words: judging when bread dough is ready, or reading a room. It contrasts with explicit knowledge, which can be written down and passed on in a manual.

People also searched

stated express understood spoken silent explicit implied intuitive implicit unspoken codified unstated

Nearby words

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