[ dɪ'skri:t ]
■ adjective ( ~er , ~est ) careful and prudent, especially so as to avoid giving offence or attracting attention.
Derivatives
~ly adverb
~ness noun
Origin
ME: from OFr. discret , from L. discretus 'separate', past participle of discernere 'discern', the sense arising from late L. discretio (see discretion ).
Usage
The words discrete and ~ are often confused. Discrete means ‘separate’ ( a discrete unit ), while ~ means ‘careful and prudent’.