What does tactful mean?
Word: Tactful
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Tactful means careful to say or do things in a way that does not upset or hurt other people.
Synonyms: considerate
Antonyms: tactless
How do you spell tactful?
Syllables: tact - ful
Tricky part: The first part is tact, which ends in ct. That t is easy to swallow when you say the word fast, so children write tacful.
Watch out for: tacful, takful
Memory tip: Spell tact by itself first and tap the table once for each of its four letters, then add the ending.
Tactful in a sentence
Example 1: Meena was tactful and told her brother his song was nearly ready, not that it was bad.
Example 2: A tactful captain thanks every player, even after a loss.
Example 3: It was tactful of Rahul to change the subject when his friend looked upset.
Fun Fact
Tact comes from the Latin for touch, the same root that gives us contact. A tactful person has a light touch with other people's feelings.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Choose the suffix that completes the word:
tact____
a) fel
b) full
c) fol
d) ful
Show answer
d) ful. When full becomes an ending it keeps only one l.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
tactful
a) polite
b) thoughtless
c) kind
d) gentle
Show answer
b) thoughtless. Polite, kind and gentle all describe caring behaviour; thoughtless means the opposite.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
flutcat
a) factual
b) tactful
c) actual
d) tactile
Show answer
b) tactful. Factual and actual both need a second a, and tactile needs an i and an e.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) tactful
b) graseful
c) respecful
d) sensable
Show answer
a) tactful. Respectful needs a t after the c, graceful keeps the c of grace, and sensible ends in ible.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which is the most tactful thing to do when a friend loses a race?
a) show everyone the photo of the finish
b) go off to celebrate with the winner
c) ask why they did not train harder
d) praise their effort and stay with them
Show answer
d) praise their effort and stay with them
2. Tactful and ____ mean nearly the same.
a) diplomatic
b) careless
c) forgetful
d) boastful
Show answer
a) diplomatic
