Adjacent Words

Tact definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TACT, n. [L. tactus, from tango, [for tago,] to touch.]
1. Touch; feeling; formerly, the stroke in beating time in music.
2. Peculiar skill or faculty; nice perception or discernment.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: consideration in dealing with others and avoiding giving offense [syn: tact, tactfulness] [ant: tactlessness]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: French, sense of touch, from Latin tactus, from tangere to touch — more at tangent Date: 1797 1. sensitive mental or aesthetic perception <converted the novel into a play with remarkable skill and tact> 2. a keen sense of what to do or say in order to maintain good relations with others or avoid offense Synonyms: tact, address, poise, savoir faire mean skill and grace in dealing with others. tact implies delicate and considerate perception of what is appropriate <questions showing a lack of tact>. address stresses dexterity and grace in dealing with new and trying situations and may imply success in attaining one's ends <brought it off with remarkable address>. poise may imply both tact and address but stresses self-possession and ease in meeting difficult situations <answered the accusations with unruffled poise>. savoir faire is likely to stress worldly experience and a sure awareness of what is proper or expedient <the savoir faire of a seasoned traveler>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 adroitness in dealing with others or with difficulties arising from personal feeling. 2 intuitive perception of the right thing to do or say. Etymology: F f. L tactus touch, sense of touch f. tangere tact- touch

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tact Tact, n. [L. tactus a touching, touch, fr. tangere, tactum, to touch: cf. F. tact. See Tangent.] 1. The sense of touch; feeling. Did you suppose that I could not make myself sensible to tact as well as sight? --Southey. Now, sight is a very refined tact. --J. Le Conte. 2. (Mus.) The stroke in beating time. 3. Sensitive mental touch; peculiar skill or faculty; nice perception or discernment; ready power of appreciating and doing what is required by circumstances. He had formed plans not inferior in grandeur and boldness to those of Richelieu, and had carried them into effect with a tact and wariness worthy of Mazarin. --Macaulay. A tact which surpassed the tact of her sex as much as the tact of her sex surpassed the tact of ours. --Macaulay.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Tact is the ability to avoid upsetting or offending people by being careful not to say or do things that would hurt their feelings. On this occasion the press have not been intrusive and they have shown great tact. = diplomacy

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. (Rare.) Touch, feeling, taction, sense of feeling. 2. Adroitness (in appreciating circumstances and acting accordingly), skill (in saying or doing what is most appropriate to the occasion), quick judgment, nice perception, cleverness, dexterity, knack, savoir faire.

Moby Thesaurus

ability, accommodatingness, acumen, acuteness, address, adeptness, adroitness, agreeableness, airmanship, allergy, amenity, anaphylaxis, appreciation, appreciation of differences, appreciativeness, artfulness, artisanship, artistic judgment, artistry, attentiveness, bravura, brilliance, capability, capacity, care, carefulness, civility, cleverness, comity, command, competence, complaisance, concern, connoisseurship, considerateness, consideration, control, coordination, courteousness, courtesy, craft, craftsmanship, critical niceness, criticalness, cunning, deference, deftness, delicacy, dexterity, dexterousness, dextrousness, diplomacy, discernment, discretion, discriminating taste, discriminatingness, discrimination, discriminativeness, efficiency, empathy, expertise, exquisiteness, facility, fastidiousness, feel, feeling, fine palate, fineness, finesse, gallantry, grace, gracefulness, graciousness, grip, handiness, head, heedfulness, helpfulness, horsemanship, hyperesthesia, hyperpathia, hypersensitivity, identification, indulgence, ingeniousness, ingenuity, irritability, judgement, judiciousness, know-how, leniency, making distinctions, marksmanship, mastership, mastery, mindfulness, nervousness, niceness of distinction, nicety, obligingness, oversensibility, oversensitiveness, overtenderness, palate, passibility, perception, perceptiveness, perceptivity, photophobia, poise, policy, politeness, politesse, politicness, practical ability, presence, prickliness, proficiency, prowess, prudence, quickness, readiness, refined discrimination, refined palate, refinement, regard, regardfulness, repose, resource, resourcefulness, respect, respectfulness, responsiveness, savoir faire, savoir-faire, savvy, seamanship, selectiveness, sense, sensibility, sensitiveness, sensitivity, sensitization, skill, skillfulness, smoothness, solicitousness, solicitude, soreness, style, suavity, subtlety, supersensitivity, sympathy, tactfulness, taste, technical brilliance, technical mastery, technical skill, technique, tenderness, tetchiness, thin skin, thought, thoughtfulness, ticklishness, timing, toleration, touchiness, understanding, urbanity, virtuosity, wit, wizardry, workmanship