Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Constituting a separate thing. See Synonyms at distinct.
- adj. Consisting of unconnected distinct parts.
- adj. Mathematics Defined for a finite or countable set of values; not continuous.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Separate; distinct from others; individual: opposed to concrete. In logic, discrete terms or suppositions are such as refer to single individuals. In music, discrete tones are such as are separated by fixed or obvious steps or intervals of pitch, as those of a pianoforte.
- Consisting of distinct or individual parts; not continuous. Discrete quantity is quantity composed of distinct units, like rational numbers; a system of quantities capable of being in one-to-one correspondence with the series of positive, integer numbers. Discrete proportion is a proportion in which the ratio of the first term to the second is equal to that of the third to the fourth, not to that of the second to the third.
- In Med., opposed to confluent: as, discrete exanthemata.
- In botany, not coalescent; distinct.
- Disjunctive; consisting of parts united by some extrinsic bond of connection. Thus, the notion of “women, sailors, and idiots” is a discrete notion.
- Discretive; containing exceptions, real or apparent.
- To separate; discontinue.
Wiktionary
- adj. Separate; distinct; individual; Non-continuous.
- adj. That can be perceived individually and not as connected to, or part of something else.
- adj. electrical engineering Having separate electronic components, such as individual resistors and inductors — the opposite of integrated circuitry.
- adj. audio engineering Having separate and independent channels of audio, as opposed to multiplexed stereo or quadraphonic, or other multi-channel sound.
- adj. topology Having each singleton subset open: said of a topological space or a topology.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Separate; distinct; disjunct.
- adj. Disjunctive; containing a disjunctive or discretive clause.
- adj. (Bot.) Separate; not coalescent; -- said of things usually coalescent.
- v. obsolete To separate.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. constituting a separate entity or part
Etymologies
- From Old French discret, from Latin discretus, from past participle of discernere. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old French, from Latin discrētus, past participle of discernere, to separate; see discern. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Ecosystem is a conglomerate of biological and physical processes interacting to produce what we identify as a discrete unit of nature--e.g., the Everglades, a rainforest, a watershed.”
“Again, moderator, go to merriam-webster. com, do a search, and realize that "discrete" is the word you wanted above, not "discreet.”
“The story unfolds in discrete scenes, many of which last only as long as one action (looking over a parapet, turning a page), very much like comic panels.”
“They operate in discrete cells, but their overarching goals and higher command structure remain a mystery.”
‘Chuck’ Episode 3.04: ‘Chuck Versus Operation Awesome’ Recap » MTV Movies Blog
“But this is discrete from the experience of the decisions themselves.”
“These electrons reside in discrete energy levels, or electron orbits, around the nucleus.”
“Some political parties have made it a central focus, over the past fifty years, to convince certain discrete groups that they MUST be unhappy, that they are poor and poverty-locked even though they suffer no hunger or exposure or physical insecurity.”
“When AT&T provides broadband service by speed, it will do so in discrete, non-overlapping tiers," Quinn said in written testimony.”
AT&T Will Roll Out Tiered Internet Access In October - The Consumerist
“His opinion said that courts could consider such claims "in discrete and well-defined instances" where "a condition has or is likely to occur in which the procedure prohibited by the Act must be used.”
“He has been referred to as a major architect of the modern classification of mental disorders which involves classifying mental disorders in discrete categories, with specified diagnostic criteria.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘discrete’.
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GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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EN - fine scholarly language
exhort, accretion, twenty-nine, atrophy, additive, brilliantly, interreligious, empiricism, pathologic, limitless, half-century, vigilant and 488 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Psychology
Chapter 1
rigorous, occurrence, maze, divers, intellectual, expansion, all in all, sensation, introspection, radical, orientation, nurture and 174 more...
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SCIE - mathematics
The most frequent words in the titles of mathematical books and journals (www.sciencedirect.com)
surface, administration, project, motion, machine, medical, vision, solid, shape, scheme, income, proceed and 205 more...
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EN - confusables
Similar words meaning different things
torturous, wreathe, tortuous, wreath, titivate, titillate, stationary, storey, septic, principal, principle, story and 134 more...
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EN - academic vocabulary
Use these and get promoted
abandon, abandonment, abnormally, abstract, abstraction, abstractly, abstracts, academia, academic, academically, academics, academies and 3119 more...
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*e?e
Words whose last and third-to-last letters are both "e".
here, eke, were, complete, mete, replete, adhere, where, mere, sphere, austere, aesthete and 99 more...
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GRE Barron's 800
abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abject, abjure, abscission, abscond, abstemious, abstinence, abysmal, accretion and 787 more...
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March 2012
panache, evanescent, erogenous, vestibule, malfeasance, lacuna, blithering, incubate, breech, tabernacle, pearly, upholstery and 79 more...
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man gre
abase, abeyance, abreast, abscission, abscond, abyss, accede, accretion, acerbic, acidulous, acumen, adulterate and 481 more...
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Kangaroo Words 2
Kangaroo words with joey-antonyms, e.g., pest/pet
pest, friend, giant, cremate, covert, there, feast, wonderful, animosity, inattentive, electrocuted, rectitude and 54 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1824 more...
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My GRE Vocab
moniker, sobriquet, prerogative, aberration, aberrant, nuance, notorious, infamous, renown, allude, refer, content and 109 more...
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Twitter favourites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favourite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
bumwank, calamity, recalcitrant, gayenese, jeeze, nonsense, flabbergasted, juxtapose, procrastinating, ossanity, biffing, loser and 1972 more... -
slumry's Words
cattywampus, ingratiate, lackadaisical, exactitude, exfoliate, fulminate, circumnavigation, circuitous, debride, sidle, sequester, chicory and 1002 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for discrete.
oroboros Discrete v. discreet.
Most of us can testify to it. After two or three heaping portions of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and Waldorf salad you’re bursting at the seams. You’re so sated that you had to discretely place a crumpled napkin over that uneaten turkey wing on your plate. --Ingrid Spilde
Despite the usage gaff, the article Why You Always Have Room for Dessert is an interesting read. Dec 30, 2011
EditorMark "Discrete" means distinct or separate (the island of Crete is a discrete part of Greece). "Discreet" means quietly careful or judicious. Sep 12, 2011
heidikraut when you mean discreet
May 18, 2009
oroboros diScrETe. Separate v. together. May 14, 2008
teradome Discrete = ("No, it is *not* the same as 'discreet'") x (More times than I can remember) Feb 9, 2007