discretionary trust
noun · n
Simple meaning
A trust that gives the trustee discretion to pay the beneficiary as much of the trust income as the trustee believes appropriate.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dihskrehshuhnuhreetruhstSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
dɪskˈɹɛʃənɛɹitˈɹʌst
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
A trust that gives the trustee discretion to pay the beneficiary as much of the trust income as the trustee believes appropriate
n
In the trust law of England, Australia, Canada, and other common law jurisdictions, a discretionary trust is a trust where the beneficiaries and their entitlements to the trust fund are not fixed, but are determined by the criteria set out in the trust instrument by the settlor.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A trust that gives the trustee discretion to pay the beneficiary as much of the trust income as the trustee believes appropriate
Used this way, discretionary trust is a specialist word with a mildly favourable edge. It turns up most in technical or specialist writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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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.