metacommunication

Etymology

meta- +‎ communication; from Ancient Greek μετά (metá, “after, beyond; with; adjacent; self”) + Latin commūnicātiō (“imparting, communicating”); from commūnicō (“share, impart, inform”).

Noun

metacommunication (plural metacommunications)

1. Communication that indicates how verbal information should be interpreted; stimuli surrounding the verbal communication that also have meaning, which may or may not be congruent with that of or support the verbal talk. It may support or contradict verbal communication; Communication which is implicit and not expressed in words.