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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Discreet \Dis*creet"\, adjective [Compar. {Discreeter}; superl. {Discreetest}.] [F. discret, L. discretus separated (whence the meaning reserved, prudent), p. p. of discernere. See {Discern}, and cf. {Discrete}.]
1. Possessed of discernment, especially in avoiding error or evil, and in the adaptation of means to ends; prudent; sagacious; judicious; not rash or heedless; cautious.
It is the discreet man, not the witty, nor the learned, nor the brave, who guides the conversation, and gives measures to society. --Addison.
Satire 's my weapon, but I 'm too discreet To run amuck, and tilt at all I meet. --Pope.
The sea is silent, the sea is discreet. --Longfellow.
2. Differing; distinct. [Obs.] --Spenser. -- {Dis*creet"ly}, adverb -- {Dis*creet"ness}, noun
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
discreet
adjective
1: marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint; "his trusted discreet aide"; "a discreet, finely wrought gold necklace" [ant: {indiscreet}]
2: unobtrusively perceptive and sympathetic; "a discerning editor"; "a discreet silence" [syn: {discerning}]
3: heedful of potential consequences; "circumspect actions"; "physicians are now more circumspect about recommending its use"; "a discreet investor" [syn: {circumspect}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
108 Moby Thesaurus words for "discreet": Olympian, aloof, backward, bashful, blank, calculating, canny, careful, cautious, chary, chilled, chilly, circumspect, close, closemouthed, cold, considerate, constrained, controlled, cool, dark, deliberate, detached, diplomatic, discriminating, discriminative, distant, dry, enlightened, evasive, expressionless, forbidding, frigid, frosty, gingerly, guarded, heedful, hesitant, icy, impassive, impersonal, inaccessible, introverted, judgmatic, judicial, judicious, leaving out nothing, mindful, moderate, modest, noncommittal, offish, on guard, overlooking no possibility, pawky, politic, provident, prudent, prudential, reasonable, reflecting, reflective, regardful, remote, removed, repressed, reserved, restrained, reticent, retiring, safe, secret, secretive, shifty, shrinking, simple, slow to act, standoff, standoffish, subdued, suppressed, tactful, temperate, tentative, thorough, thoughtful, unadorned, unadventurous, unaffable, unapproachable, uncommunicative, uncongenial, undaring, undemonstrative, unelaborate, unenterprising, unexcessive, unexpansive, unextreme, ungenial, unostentatious, unprecipitate, unpretentious, wary, watchful, well-advised, well-judged, withdrawn
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |