Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

discretionary

/dɪsˈkɹɛʃəˌnɛɹi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.26 in modern English

Syllables: dis-cre-tionary
IPA: /dɪsˈkɹɛʃəˌnɛɹi/

19

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

5

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Available at one's discretion; able to be used as one chooses; left to or regulated by one's own discretion or judgment.

Example Sentences

"discretionary income"
"discretionary powers"
"The new normal: Will demand quickly return to pre-COVID levels? Unlikely, if only because with the country (and the world) in deep recession, many younger people will be in serious financial difficulty. A lack of disposable income simply won't allow them much discretionary travel."

Etymology

From discretion + -ary (“pertaining to”). Compare French discrétionnaire.

Word Breakdown

Root: *krey-
Suffix: discretion

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /dɪsˈkɹɛʃəˌnɛɹi/
British English: /dɪˈskɹɛʃən(ə)ɹi/

Inflected Forms

more discretionary (comparative) most discretionary (superlative)

Derived Forms

discretionarily nondiscretionary

Phrases

discretionary account discretionary fiscal policy discretionary income discretionary spending nondiscretionary spending

Synonyms

elective optional discretional

Rhymes With

concessionary recessionary

Questions

How do you pronounce discretionary?: The recorded pronunciation is /dɪsˈkɹɛʃəˌnɛɹi/.
What does discretionary mean?: Available at one's discretion; able to be used as one chooses; left to or regulated by one's own discretion or judgment.
Where does discretionary come from?: From discretion + -ary (“pertaining to”). Compare French discrétionnaire.

How to pronounce discretionary

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “discretionary”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/dɪsˈkɹɛʃəˌnɛɹi/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “discretionary”.
Repeat and practice — Say “discretionary” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.