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Be Discreet! or Discrete? Which Is It?
Posted by Editormum on Thursday, 16 June 2005 in Uncategorized | ∞
These two words are very frequently confused. I suppose that it’s due to the fact that their pronunciation is the same and that only two letters change position in the spelling.
Discreet is an adjective meaning “unobtrusive” or “in a confidential manner.” Example: Please be discreet when you tell everyone about the surprise party — we don’t want Mike to overhear.
Discrete is an adjective meaning “separate” or “individual.” Example: His “music” was a haphazard mix of jumbled noises interspersed with discrete but unrelated tones.
Be sure to check these words individually, as your spell-check will recognise either spelling as a legitimate word.