discreetness

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /dɪˈskritnɪs/ UK /dɪˈskriːtnəs/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the quality of being careful and prudent in speech or conduct

Her discreetness made her the ideal keeper of secrets.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the quality of being... discretion prudence circumspection tact caution judiciousness

Opposites

indiscretion tactlessness rashness imprudence

Word family

Related forms discreet discretion discrete

Etymology

From discreet + -ness; discreet from Latin discretus ('separated, discerning'), past participle of discernere ('to distinguish'), from dis- ('apart') + cernere ('to sift').

discretus Latin cernere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# discreetness

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** dɪˈskritnɪs
**IPA (UK):** dɪˈskriːtnəs

## Meanings
1. the quality of being careful and prudent in speech or conduct

## Examples
- Her discreetness made her the ideal keeper of secrets.

## Synonyms
- discretion
- prudence
- circumspection
- tact
- caution
- judiciousness

## Antonyms
- indiscretion
- tactlessness
- rashness
- imprudence

## Related Forms
- discreet
- discretion
- discrete

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: discretus
- Root: cernere

## Etymology
From discreet + -ness; discreet from Latin discretus ('separated, discerning'), past participle of discernere ('to distinguish'), from dis- ('apart') + cernere ('to sift').

## AI Etymology
Discreetness is from discreet + -ness; discreet from Latin discretus ('separated, discerning'), past participle of discernere ('to distinguish'), from dis- ('apart') + cernere ('to sift'). The ancestry passes through Latin discretus and Latin cernere. The prefix dis- often marks separation, reversal, or negation in Latin and English formations, helping to explain the word's surface structure; the suffix -ness marks an abstract noun of quality or state, so the English form is shaped by recognizable word formation as well as by its inherited or borrowed base. In present use as a noun, it means "the quality of being careful and prudent in speech or conduct", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include discreet, discretion, and discrete.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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