Tacit describes something that is understood without being overtly or directly expressed. Tacit also means something that is in effect by virtue of the operation of the law, it needn’t be explicitly expressed. Tacit is an adjective, related words are tacitly, tacitness. The word tacit comes from the Latin word tacitus, which means achieved without words, assumed as a matter of course, silent.
Taciturn refers to a person who is uncommunicative, someone who is disinclined to talk. Taciturn is an adjective, related terms are taciturnly, taciturnity. The word taciturn appears around 1770, derived from the French word taciturne. Remember, tacit generally describes an agreement that is implied or understood without being directly expressed, taciturn describes a non-talkative person.
Examples
Majumdar believes this time Malakar will have the tacit support of the banned CPI (Maoist), one of the more infamous offshoots of the Naxalbari movement. (The New Indian Express)
Mr Clarke, who was home secretary during the 7/7 London bombings, told the Evening Standard today: ‘It must have given comfort to the proscribed organisations that people like Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott and John McDonnell were giving them tacit support.’ (The Daily Mail)
Buying these is a tacit bet on the yen, sterling, and euro, since investors swap U.S. dollars for foreign stocks denominated in other currencies. (Barron’s)
And despite his veiled persona and taciturn reputation, Prince was actually very talkative. (The Southgate News-Herald)
Even more than its verbose, intensely personal predecessors, “My Struggle: Book Five” is about itself — how a taciturn Norwegian came to be the author of an epic literary project that, when the final entry arrives in the U.S. next year, will have exceeded 3,000 pages and been translated into more than a dozen languages (the English edition has been splendidly handled by Don Bartlett). (The San Francisco Chronicle)
These are the parents that Hart and Risley were most likely to classify as “taciturn.” (The Atlantic)