Search the Dictionary

One who discredits.

Possessed of discernment, especially in avoiding error or evil, and in the adaptation of means to ends; prudent; sagacious; judicious; not rash or heedless; cautious. It is the discreet man, not the witty, nor the learned, nor the brave, who guides the conversation, and gives measures to society. Addison. Satire 's my…

The state or quality of being discrepant; disagreement; variance; discordance; dissimilarity; contrariety. There hath been ever a discrepance of vesture of youth and age, men and women. Sir T. Elyot. There is no real discrepancy between these two genealogies. G. S. Faber.

Discordant; at variance; disagreeing; contrary; different. The Egyptians were . . . the most oddly discrepant from the rest in their manner of worship. Cudworth.

Disjunctive; containing a disjunctive or discretive clause; as, "I resign my life, but not my honor," is a discrete proposition.

Separately; disjunctively.

The quality of being discreet; wise conduct and management; cautious discernment, especially as to matters of propriety and self- control; prudence; circumspection; wariness. The better part of valor is discretion. Shak. The greatest parts without discretion may be fatal to their owner. Hume.

Left to discretion; unrestrained except by discretion or judgment; as, an ambassador with discretionary powers.

At discretion; according to one's discretion or judgment.

Marking distinction or separation; disjunctive. Discretive proposition (Logic & Gram.), one that expresses distinction, opposition, or variety, by means of discretive particles, as but, though, yet, etc.; as, travelers change their climate, but not their temper.

In a discretive manner.

Capable of being discriminated. [Obs.] Bailey.

In palmistry, applied to the line which marks the separation between the hand and the arm.

The eliminant of the n partial differentials of any homogenous function of n variables. See Eliminant.

To set apart as being different; to mark as different; to separate from another by discerning differences; to distinguish. Cowper. To discriminate the goats from the sheep. Barrow.

In a discriminating manner; distinctly.

The state of being discriminated; distinctness.

Marking a difference; distinguishing. -- Dis*crim"i*na`ting*ly, adv. And finds with keen discriminating sight, Black's not so black; -- nor white so very white. Canning.

The act of discriminating, distinguishing, or noting and marking differences. To make an anxious discrimination between the miracle absolute and providential. Trench.

Marking a difference; distinguishing; distinctive; characteristic. That peculiar and discriminative form of life. Johnson.