Tact Definition | Definition of Tact at Dictionary.com

tact

[takt]

–noun

1.	a keen sense of what to say or do to avoid giving offense; skill in dealing with difficult or delicate situations.

2.	a keen sense of what is appropriate, tasteful, or aesthetically pleasing; taste; discrimination.

3.	touch or the sense of touch.

Origin:
1150–1200; < L tāctus sense of touch, equiv. to tag-, var. s. of tangere to touch + -tus suffix of v. action

Synonyms:
1. perception, sensitivity; diplomacy, poise.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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tact (tākt)

Acute sensitivity to what is proper and appropriate in dealing with others, including the ability to speak or act without offending.
Archaic The sense of touch.

[French, from Old French, sense of touch, from Latin tāctus, from past participle of tangere, to touch; see tag- in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: These nouns denote the ability to deal with others with skill, sensitivity, and finesse. Tact implies propriety and the ability to speak or act unoffensively: "He had . . . a tact that would preserve him from flagrant error in any society" (Francis Parkman).
Address suggests deftness and grace in social situations: "With the charms of beauty she combined the address of an accomplished intriguer" (Charles Merivale).
Diplomacy implies adroit management of difficult situations: Diffusing the confrontation required delicate diplomacy.
Savoir-faire involves knowing the right or graceful thing to say or do: The hosts set the shy visitor at ease with their savoir-faire.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : tact

Spanish: tacto,

German: der Takt,

Japanese: 如才なさ

More Translations »

tact

1651, "sense of touch or feeling" (with an isolated instance from c.1200), from L. tactus "touch, feeling, handling, sense of touch," from root of tangere "to touch" (see tangent). Meaning "sense of "discernment, diplomacy, etc." first recorded 1804, from a sense that developed in Fr. cognate tact.

TACT
total audit concept technique

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