Meaning & use
tacit approval
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Meaning
noununcountableformal
Agreement that is understood from silence or lack of objection rather than stated openly.
Grammar: No plural: the plan had tacit approval, not formal approval.
Patterns
- give tacit approval to something
- with the tacit approval of someone
The manager gave tacit approval by saying nothing about the late starts.
The policy continued with the tacit approval of the council.
Her silence was taken as tacit approval.
Common combinations
- give tacit approval
- The mayor gave tacit approval by not stopping the event.
- with the tacit approval of
- The plan went ahead with the tacit approval of the board.
- receive tacit approval
- The project received tacit approval from management.
- seen as tacit approval
- Staying silent can be seen as tacit approval.
Synonyms and how they differ
- implicit approval
- Implicit approval is close, but implicit suggests approval built into the situation, while tacit suggests approval kept quiet.
- unspoken consent
- Unspoken consent is plainer and more descriptive of silence.
- acquiescence
- Acquiescence stresses passive acceptance even when you do not really like the thing.
- endorsement
- Endorsement is open public support, the opposite of tacit approval.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: tacit approval or taciturn?
tacit approval vs taciturn
Taciturn describes a person who says very little, while tacit describes something understood without words.
Practice
The boss never said yes, but by not objecting he gave his ____.
Choose one answer.
Silence that signals agreement is tacit approval. The other options describe open or written actions.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tacit approval”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.