WORD OF THE DAY
Discreet describes someone or something that is appropriately quiet, prudent, and restrained. If you are wearing a discreet gray suit, it is unlikely that anyone at that business meeting will notice you.
Often people use discreet not only to indicate modesty or carefulness, but also to show a sort of secretiveness along the lines of “You're going to keep this a secret, right?” If no one in your family knows that you like to dress up as a bear, but then your cousin finds out, you may ask him to please be discreet.
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Commonly confused words with discreet
discreet / discrete
Discreet means on the down low, under the radar, careful, but discrete means individual or detached. They come from the same ultimate source, the Latin discrētus, for separated or distinct, but discreet has taken its own advice and quietly gone its separate way.
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In this epic poem, clever Odysseus attempts to find his way home after the end of the Trojan War. Learn these words from the translation by Robert Fagles.
After a shipwreck separates her from her twin brother, Viola disguises herself as a man so she can pass safely through the land of Illyria. There she befriends Duke Orsino and tries to help him win the affections of Countess Olivia. Read the full text here.
