Discreet, Discrete

Discreet, Discrete One of these terms indicates that something is not connected to anything else. The other indicates that tact and good judgment are being used; this term often refers to judgment regarding dealing with other people. Read the following examples and then answer the preview questions. That division of the company is a discrete unit; it has its own personnel, operations, and sales departments. When you talk with Malcolm, be discreet about the sale of the firm�we don't want the news to get to the competition. If something is a separate unit, not connected to anything else, it is said to be ________________. When a person uses tact and good judgment when dealing with others, that person is said to be ________________. To be separate is to be discrete; to use tact is to be discreet. While these forms of the two words are very similar, when they are changed to nouns, the difference is greater. When we talk about the condition of being separate, we talk about its discreteness; when we talk about the use of tact, however, we talk about discretion.