tacit

adjective tac·it \ˈta-sət\

: expressed or understood without being directly stated

Full Definition of TACIT

: expressed or carried on without words or speech <the blush was a tacit answer — Bram Stoker>

: implied or indicated (as by an act or by silence) but not actually expressed <tacit consent> <tacit admission of guilt>

— tac·it·ly adverb

— tac·it·ness noun

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See tacit defined for kids

Examples of TACIT

While they got a frosty public response, officials say the private message was a tacit green light. —Mark Thompson, Time, 16 Nov. 1998
Magic requires tacit cooperation of the audience with the magician—an abandonment of skepticism … the willing suspension of disbelief. —Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World, 1996
What a writer must always remember, however, is that with rare exceptions—Edith Wharton then, Louis Auchincloss now—he or she is never really in society; a temporary visa is issued with the tacit stipulation that it will be withdrawn and access denied if confidences are betrayed. —John Gregory Dunne, Harp, 1989
Myself, I like to play the field and see what happens, but there are certain tacit rules: do not mix freshwater fish with those from the sea; do not mix coarse fat fish with delicate ones … —M.F.K. Fisher, With Bold Knife and Fork, 1969
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Origin of TACIT

Middle French or Latin; Middle French tacite, from Latin tacitus silent, from past participle of tacēre to be silent; akin to Old High German dagēn to be silent

First Known Use: 1576