unspoken rule
Silent social contract
An unspoken rule is a behavioral expectation understood by members of a group but never formally stated: There's an unspoken rule that you don't take the last donut without asking.
Such rules govern workplaces, families, and social situations—often more powerfully than written policies.
Violating them typically brings social disapproval rather than official punishment.
- tacit agreementConsent without words
- gentleman's agreementInformal pact based on trust
- silent understandingShared knowledge without words
- hintIndirect suggestion
- open secretKnown fact nobody admits
implicit · suggestion · understood · goes without saying · tacit knowledge · read the room · code of silence · unstated · taboo · convention · indirectness · knowing look · tacit · insinuation · behavioral norms · assumed · common knowledge · protocol
- social codessocial norms, social norm, social scripts, social roles, cultural norm
- subtexthidden meaning, implied meaning, veiled meaning, subtext, innuendo
unspoken rulelaw
Binding principle or regulation
statute · regulation · legal requirement · ordinance · bylaw
rule, ruler, rules, ruling, unspoken, unspeakable, overrule, unspeaking, misrule