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discretion

disc·re·tion

UK/dɪˈskɹɛʃən/ US/dɪˈskrɛʃʌn/ fairly common

noun

1.

freedom to act or judge on one''s own

2.

knowing how to avoid embarrassment or distress

  • “the servants showed great tact and discretion”
Synonyms
3.
4.

the power of making free choices unconstrained by external agencies

Synonyms
5.

the trait of judging wisely and objectively

  • “a man of discernment”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English discrecioun, from Old French discretion, from Late Latin discrētiō, from Latin discerno. Equivalent to discreet + -ion.

Phrases

  • abuse of discretion
  • age of discretion
  • discretion is the better part of valour
  • surrender at discretion

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.