How to Use tactful in a Sentence

tactful

adjective

• It was tactful of her not to criticize me in front of my boss.
• He gave a tactful critique of her story.
• And tactful honesty about the source is the best route.
  — Annie Midori Atherton, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2022
• Thus the it’s-not-you-it’s-me approach, which is tactful, if worn.
  — Miss Manners | Judith Martin, Anchorage Daily News, 18 July 2023
• Or is there a tactful way to find out if my wife is invited?
  — Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 27 July 2019
• Instead of cash, a gift card is a more tactful way to give a monetary gift.
  — Maggie Maloney, Town & Country, 16 Oct. 2019
• Fauci has had to correct some of Trump's false statements but tries to do so in a tactful way.
  — Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 13 Apr. 2020
• Is there a tactful way to ask the groom's parents to split the bill for the reception dinner at this year's smaller do?
  — The Washington Post, 31 July 2020
• Or is there a tactful way to make my differing opinion about these drugs known?
  — Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 28 June 2023
• This is your chance to help show them the future in a tactful, truthful way and support their efforts in finding a better fit down the road.
  — Julie Holunga, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2021
• Glenn, a former astronaut and the first American to orbit the Earth, was not as tactful.
  — azcentral, 2 Apr. 2018
• But even the usually tactful Pagano had a hard time stomaching the Dallas game.
  — Michael Marot, The Seattle Times, 24 Aug. 2017
• The HAPIfork does what your tactful friends won’t, imparting its lessons subtly.
  — Justin Peters, Slate Magazine, 24 Oct. 2017
• So try to think of a tactful and affectionate way of asking them about repayment.
  — Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2023
• As always, please be tactful when zapping back to plant investment ideas.
  — Jason Karaian, Quartz, 24 Dec. 2019
• So someday, perhaps, your mirror will tell you everything your friends are too tactful to say.
  — Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 28 July 2015
• Or did even the gamely indulgent Russian, though too tactful to say so, balk at the image’s molten energy?
  — Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 9 May 2022
• Sometimes, something comes up that requires that tactful balance of asking and telling.
  — Roxane Gay, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2022
• But for anyone who still did not hear about it, Miss Manners finds your wording extremely tactful.
  — Judith Martin, Washington Post, 4 Sep. 2020
• Certainly, there are more tactful ways to excite a moribund fan base than to sideswipe the previous regime.
  — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 12 Feb. 2020
• Compare that to the stance of French President Emmanuel Macron, who vowed in less-than-tactful language last week to make the life of the unvaccinated a living hell.
  — Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2022
• The picture that emerged was one in which Biden’s people would be more tactful than their predecessors, but the endgame would remain mostly unchanged.
  — Robert Goulder, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2021
• On the other hand, research by my colleague Michael Schwaebe and me shows that tactful approaches to expressing our views can work wonders.
  — Time, 22 Nov. 2022
• Cruise Three tactful strategies for dealing with fellow cruisers who've taken the party too far.
  — Scott Laird, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Apr. 2023
• Many women calculate in this competitive way; most are too tactful to say so.
  — Allison Pearson, New York Times, 29 May 2018
• For their Dallas stop, a fundraising luncheon was scheduled at the Trade Mart, which acted as a tactful strategy to regain support.
  — Alyssa Fernandez, Dallas News, 11 June 2020
• Oettinger was tactful while shorthanded, stopping all nine Avalanche shots.
  — Dallas News, 15 Feb. 2022
• All four artists exemplify the tactful bravado that makes Black women so very necessary to both genres.
  — Essence, 8 July 2022
• Image Many women calculate in this competitive way; most are too tactful to say so.
  — Allison Pearson, New York Times, 29 May 2018
• Teaching the fine art of tactful pettiness, the duo will traverse the world of pop culture, chat with their celebrity friends, and show their audience how to accept themselves without taking life too seriously.
  — Katcy Stephan, Variety, 17 June 2024

Last Updated: 28 Nov 2024