tact
n. uncountablen. the ability to say or do things in a way that does not upset other people. You use this when you need to handle a difficult situation carefully.
n. a keen sense of what to say or do to avoid giving offence; skill and sensitivity in dealing with others or with difficult issues.
She showed great tact when telling him the bad news.
The manager used considerable tact to resolve the dispute between the two employees without making either feel blamed.
Diplomacy requires a rare combination of firm resolve and delicate tact, ensuring that national interests are protected without unnecessarily alienating foreign allies through blunt or insensitive communication.
Borrowed from French tact, following a semantic shift from earlier tact (“sense of touch; feeling”), borrowed from Latin tāctus (“touched”). The borrowing was likely influenced by earlier English tact (“sense of touch; feeling”), which was a parallel borrowing directly from the Latin.
Directly borrowed from Latin tāctus.
Typically paired with the verbs 'show', 'use', or 'exercise'.