Meaning & use
tacit consent
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Meanings
noununcountableformal
Agreement that is shown by silence or by someone's behavior rather than by saying or writing that they agree.
Grammar: Usually has no article or plural: they acted with tacit consent.
Patterns
- tacit consent to something
- give tacit consent
By not objecting at the meeting, the board gave its tacit consent to the plan.
The landlord's tacit consent was clear when he accepted the rent and said nothing.
Staying in the country, the philosopher argued, shows tacit consent to its laws.
noununcountabletechnical
In political theory, the idea that people agree to be governed simply by living under a government and using its services.
Grammar: Used as a theory term without an article: tacit consent is a weak basis for authority.
Patterns
- theory of tacit consent
Locke discussed tacit consent in explaining why citizens owe obedience.
Critics say tacit consent is a poor reason to claim people have agreed to a system.
The essay questions whether tacit consent can justify any law.
Common combinations
- give tacit consent
- The parents gave tacit consent by letting the party go ahead.
- imply tacit consent
- Her silence does not imply tacit consent.
- with the tacit consent of
- The decision was made with the tacit consent of the senior staff.
- assume tacit consent
- You cannot assume tacit consent from a failure to reply.
- tacit consent to
- He took her smile as tacit consent to the idea.
Synonyms and how they differ
- implied consent
- Implied consent is the most common close match and is often used in legal contexts, while tacit consent sounds more philosophical.
- acquiescence
- Acquiescence stresses going along reluctantly, whereas tacit consent is neutral about how willing someone is.
- passive approval
- Passive approval is a plain phrase that stresses not acting, but it is less formal and less exact than tacit consent.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: tacit consent or taciturn?
tacit consent vs taciturn
Taciturn describes a person who says very little, while tacit describes something understood without being said.
Practice
The council never voted on the project, but its silence was taken as ______.
Choose one answer.
Tacit consent means agreement shown by silence. Written approval would require a document, which the sentence rules out by saying there was no vote.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tacit consent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.