2 meanings
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1 —as in:
discreet--not showy or gossipy
Definition
trustworthy with secrets and/or inconspicuous or unobtrusive- I leave my phone on silent mode, so it can alert me discreetly when I receive a text message.
discreetly = in a manner that is unlikely to attract attention
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- I will be discreet in my investigation.
- We are discreet at the office. We never display affection or act as though we date.
- You can count on her to be discreet.
- I prefer discreet makeup to heavy makeup.
- Their servers are discreet yet attentive.
- I also told them to engage a staff of servants whom I was prepared to pay very liberally — so long as they keep their mouths shut, I thought — provided that they are discreet, I wrote.Jean Rhys -- Wide Sargasso Sea
- Sylvia left the cow to whatever sad fate might await her, and stepped discreetly aside into the bushes, but she was just too late. The enemy had discovered her, and...Sarah Jewett -- A White Heron
- ...like you handled that operation you done on my daughter, so discreetly that a hillbilly Heckler is shouting me questions about it wherever I speak?Tennessee Williams -- A Streetcar Named Desire
- She kept her voice down and a carefully pleasant expression on her face. "Lieutenant, must you do this now, here and now?"
"Mrs. Whitney, I'll be as discreet as I possibly can."J.D. Robb -- Glory in Death
discreet = careful not to attract attention or cause embarrassment
discreet = careful not to attract attention
discreet = trustworthy with secrets and/or inconspicuous or unobtrusive
discreet = unlikely to attract attention
discreet = don't attract attention and/or don't talk with others about what they see and hear
discreet = trustworthy with secrets
discreetly = inconspicuously (in a manner unlikely to attract attention)
discreetly = in a manner that is unlikely to attract attention or cause embarrassment
discreet = trustworthy with secrets and/or inconspicuous or unobtrusive
2 —as in:
discreet--not foolish
Definition
sensible and careful; possibly having good manners- She is a discreet investor.
discreet = sensible and careful
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- I need someone who is discreet—not someone as clueless and foolish as her little sister.
- Well, I have been indiscreet, formerly; but I think I have got over it.Henry James -- Washington Square
- Mr. Raymond chuckled, not at all offended, and I tried to frame a discreet question: "Why do you do like you do?"Harper Lee -- To Kill a Mockingbird
- I consider the blessing of a wife as most justly described in those discreet lines of the poet—'Heaven's last best gift.'Jane Austen -- Mansfield Park
- It would have been indiscreet and unprofessional for us to become sexual partners.J.D. Robb -- Naked in Death
- Discreet he was, and of great reverence:
He seemed such, his wordes were so wise,Geoffrey Chaucer -- The Canterbury Tales - Do you want to be told that you are only unlike other people in being more wise and discreet?Jane Austen -- Mansfield Park
- My daughter, whom you have never seen, is nothing to you; and I, possibly, am only an indiscreet and impertinent old man.Henry James -- Washington Square
- Allow me to say that it is extremely indiscreet of you to form secret alliances with young men.Henry James -- Washington Square
discreet = sensible and careful
indiscreet = not sensible or careful
(Editor's note: The prefix "in-" in indiscreet means not and reverses the meaning of discreet. This is the same pattern you see in words like invisible, incomplete, and insecure.)
discreet = polite (using good judgment)
discreet = sensible
indiscreet = not sensible or careful
(Editor's note: The prefix "in-" in indiscreet means not and reverses the meaning of discreet. This is the same pattern you see in words like invisible, incomplete, and insecure.)
discreet = sensible
(Editor's note: The prefix "in-" in indiscreet means not and reverses the meaning of discreet. This is the same pattern you see in words like invisible, incomplete, and insecure.)
(Editor's note: The prefix "in-" in indiscreet means not and reverses the meaning of discreet. This is the same pattern you see in words like invisible, incomplete, and insecure.)