Discreet

How to spell discreet

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce discreet

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does discreet mean?

1. adjectiveCareful and tactful in what one says or does, so as to avoid drawing attention or causing embarrassment.

Discreet in a sentence

• Please be discreet about this matter.

• She gave him a discreet nod from across the room.

• He's known for being discreet with sensitive information.

• A discreet glance was all that passed between them.

• I need discreet help with a private issue.

Where does discreet come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin discretus, the past participle of discernere, which meant 'to separate' or 'to distinguish', formed from dis- 'apart' and cernere 'to sift or to separate'. The idea behind it was the mental act of telling one thing apart from another, and from that grew the sense of careful, sound judgement. English borrowed it through Old French in the 1300s as 'discret', meaning prudent and tactful. Crucially, discreet and discrete share this exact Latin root and were originally the same word; the spellings only split apart later, with discreet (the two e's huddled close together, as if keeping a secret) taking the meaning 'tactful' and discrete keeping the older 'separate' sense. A handy memory hook is that the two e's in discreet stay quietly together, just as a discreet person keeps things to themselves.

How the word is built

• Originally the same word as "discrete".

Words that sound like discreet

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• discrete: Individually separate and distinct; consisting of distinct or unconnected parts.