These words refer to things left unexpressed, unrealized or unacted upon, though their existence or influence can often be detected. Implicit refers to something that is not revealed in words or action but that can be inferred from the evidence: an implicit cultural assumption that men are superior to women; the breakdown of moral standards implicit in today’s emphasis on sex in dress, literature and entertainment; a weakness implicit in his whole approach to Renaissance art. Potential is close to implicit, but stresses the capability of something to become active: on the look-out for potential customers; the good and evil potential within each person. Latent , by contrast, stresses something that is not conscious or acted out, with no implication that it need ever be made manifest: a latent pyromaniac; musical talent that remained latent through a lack of training. Occasionally the word can suggest something once in evidence but now hidden through accident or design: childhood fears that have become latent and fossilized in adulthood.

Covert is restricted to this last sense of latent , referring to something that is deliberately hidden or brought about in secret. Thus, the word may even suggest a furtive acting out of something, a possibility that is in sharp contrast to those for the previous words: covert assignations that brought them together often, though both remained tied to their respective spouses. The stealth implied in the word usually points to unsavoury or unethical misconduct, although this is not always true: hermetic readings of scripture that saw it as a system of covert symbols for Gnostic doctrines; auctions conducted by means of covert signals between the bidders and the auctioneer. Tacit may apply in the same general way as implicit , but it does have specific relevance to agreements or understandings arrived at without verbalizing some or all of the conditions involved; a tacit feeling in the group that the newcomer should be watched closely; club rules that left tacit the exclusion of certain classes of prospective members. Unspoken is restricted to one aspect of tacit , referring more informally to things not mentioned or said aloud. Like covert and tacit , the word contrasts with latent in indicating things one is conscious of and acts upon, but without expressing them: eyes glinting with her evident but unspoken disapproval of him; conjugal assumptions that were left unspoken out of a sense of delicacy.