discreet vs. discrete
Spell-check is no help here and neither is context, because both words turn up in the same professional register — legal writing, consulting, technical documentation. "A discrete enquiry" and "a discreet enquiry" are both plausible phrases with completely different meanings, and only one of them is what you meant.
discreet
An adjective meaning careful, tactful, unobtrusive — not drawing attention.
- He made a discreet enquiry before raising it formally.
- The office needed a discreet exit for clients.
- She was discreet about the negotiation.
- A discreet amount of perfume. (Meaning restrained — the sense that has nothing to do with secrecy.)
discrete
An adjective meaning individually separate and distinct.
- The process has four discrete stages.
- These are discrete problems and need separate solutions.
- Discrete mathematics deals with countable structures.
- Break it into discrete tasks before estimating.
Why discreet and discrete get mixed up
Discreet and discrete come from the same Latin word, meaning separated or distinguished, and they are pronounced the same. They split into two unrelated meanings.
Discreet means careful and tactful, especially about keeping things private or not drawing attention: a discreet inquiry, a discreet earpiece, be discreet about the news. Discrete means separate and distinct: the project has three discrete phases, discrete data in statistics, discrete components in electronics.
The spelling carries its own reminder. In discrete, the letter t sits between the two e's and keeps them separate, which is exactly what discrete means. In discreet, the two e's sit quietly together, keeping a secret.
Common mistakes
Please be discrete about the reorganization until it's announced.
✓Please be discreet about the reorganization until it's announced.
This means keep it quiet: discreet.
The rollout happens in four discreet stages.
✓The rollout happens in four discrete stages.
The stages are separate and distinct: discrete.
She wore a small, discrete hearing aid.
✓She wore a small, discreet hearing aid.
Unobtrusive, not drawing attention, is discreet.
Quick way to remember
Look at where the "e"s sit. In "discrete," the two "e"s are separated by a "t" — and the word means separate. In "discreet," they sit together, keeping quiet side by side.
Questions
What are the nouns?
Discretion comes from discreet: "use your discretion", "at the manager's discretion". The noun for discrete, discreteness, is rarely used outside mathematics.
What does "discrete data" mean?
Data that can take only separate values, usually counts, such as the number of customers. It contrasts with continuous data, such as height or temperature.