tacit

8 synonyms and 5 antonyms for tacit, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

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

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

understood silent

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

implicit implied intuitive

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

unspoken unstated experiential

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

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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