Discrete and discreet are among many sets of homophones—words that have similar pronunciations but different meanings.  Such homophonous words can be perplexing when a writer is trying to decide which word is the most appropriate for his or her message. 

Discrete is an adjective.  It means “a separate unit” or “distinct.”

Ex.  The university is made up of three discrete schools:  The School of Education, the School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Business.

Discrete can also mean “finite” or “countable” when it is used in mathematics.

Ex.  Our professor discussed discrete algorithms today in computer science class. 

Discreet is another adjective.  It means “using cautious self-restraint” or “using sound judgment.”

Along with our website, we recommend the following site:  Ultimate Style—The Rules of Writing from sparknotes.com.  This site provides an alphabetized list of common English errors, commonly confused words, usage issues, parts of speech, formatting information, and punctuation.

Test your understanding by choosing the correct word in each of the following sentences.

1. Each engineer in the IT department has a (discrete / discreet) role in the development of new software.

2. It is imperative that bank tellers be (discrete / discreet) when handling large sums of money.

3. Are (discrete / discreet) probabilities going to included on the final exam in our math class?

Answers

1. Each engineer in the IT department has a discrete role in the development of new software.

2. It is imperative that bank tellers be discreet when handling large sums of money.

3. Are discrete probabilities going to included on the final exam in our math class?

Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.

Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.

Subscribe/Unsubscribe/View Archive