| / English Dictionary |
DISCREET
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint
Example:
a discreet, finely wrought gold necklace
Classified under:
Antonym:
indiscreet (lacking discretion; injudicious)
Derivation:
discreetness (subtly skillful handling of a situation)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Heedful of potential consequences
Example:
a discreet investor
Synonyms:
circumspect; discreet
Classified under:
Similar:
prudent (careful and sensible; marked by sound judgment)
Derivation:
discreetness (knowing how to avoid embarrassment or distress)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Unobtrusively perceptive and sympathetic
Example:
a discreet silence
Synonyms:
discerning; discreet
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
tactful (having or showing a sense of what is fitting and considerate in dealing with others)
Derivation:
discreetness (subtly skillful handling of a situation)
Context examples:
I can see that they are very wise and discreet folk at Beaulieu.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Mr Elliot was rational, discreet, polished, but he was not open.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
And, she added, I am obliged to you for your valuable services and discreet conduct!
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
It is the discreet analog of the exponential distribution.
(Geometric Distribution, NCI Thesaurus)
Mothers have need of sharp eyes and discreet tongues when they have girls to manage.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
He was too discreet and cautious a man to incur Wolf Larsen’s anger at a time when that anger could be expressed in terms stronger than words.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Let us be discreet—quite on our good behaviour.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
And he advised me to “acquire, by my patience and discreet behaviour, the good opinion of himself and his subjects.”
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
A discreet probability distribution, which is a generalization of the binomial distribution.
(Multinomial Distribution, NCI Thesaurus)
The scientific men were discreet.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
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