discreet
adjectiveWord Family
- discreet adjective (≠ indiscreet)
- discretion noun (≠ indiscretion)
careful in what you say or do, in order to keep something secret or to avoid causing difficulty for somebody or making them feel embarrassed （言行）謹慎的，慎重的；考慮周到的 He was always very discreet about his love affairs. 他對兩性關系一貫謹小慎微。 You ought to make a few discreet enquiries before you sign anything. 你應該審慎地詢問清楚再簽字。 A discreet glance at the clock told me the interview had lasted an hour. 謹慎地看了一眼時鐘，告訴我面試已經持續了一個小時。
Oxford Collocations DictionaryDiscreet is used with these nouns:- advertisement
- distance
- enquiry
- …
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French discret, from Latin discretus ‘separate’, past participle of discernere ‘discern’, the sense arising from late Latin discretio ‘separation’, from discernere, from dis- ‘apart’ + cernere ‘to separate’. Compare with discrete.