discretion
noun
Simple meaning
Care in what you say or do, so you don't upset or embarrass people.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dihskrehshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
dɪskˈɹɛʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Freedom to act or judge on one's own
The freedom to make one's own judgements.
The ability to make wise choices or decisions.
The authority to exercise one's own judgement in making decisions that have effect.
The quality of being discreet.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Freedom to act or judge on one's own
Used this way, discretion is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use discretion
- “The servants showed great tact and discretion.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A trust that gives the trustee discretion to pay the beneficiary as much of the trust income as the trustee believes appropriate.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: freedom to act or judge on one's own
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.