different between wise vs discreet

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wa?z/
• Homophones: whys, wyes, Ys, why's
• Rhymes: -a?z

Etymology 1

From Middle English wis, wys, from Old English w?s (“wise”), from Proto-Germanic *w?saz (“wise”), from Proto-Indo-European *weydstos, *weydtos, a participle form of *weyd-.

Cognate with Dutch wijs, German weise, Norwegian and Swedish vis. Compare wit.

Adjective

wise (comparative wiser or more wise, superlative wisest or most wise)

1. Showing good judgement or the benefit of experience.

   "It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish" - Aeschylus

2. (colloquial, ironic, sarcastic) Disrespectful.

3. (colloquial) Aware, informed.

Usage notes

• nouns that often collocate with wise: person, decision, advice, counsel, saying, adage, proverb etc.
• even though wise is an antonym of foolish, it does not mean smart or intelligent, which is also an antonym of foolish.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:wise

Antonyms

• unwise
• foolish

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

wise (third-person singular simple present wises, present participle wising, simple past and past participle wised)

1. To become wise.
2. (ergative, slang) Usually with "up", to inform or learn.

   Mo wised him up about his situation.

   After Mo had a word with him, he wised up.

Etymology 2

From Old English w?se, from Proto-Germanic *w?s?. Cognate with Dutch wijze, German Weise, Norwegian vis, Swedish visa, vis, Italian guisa, Spanish guisa. Compare -wise.

Noun

wise (plural wises)

1. (archaic) Way, manner, method.
   • 1481, William Caxton, The History Reynard the Fox

     In such wise that all the beasts, great and small, came to the court save Reynard the Fox.

   • 1850, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Burden of Nineveh, lines 2-5

     ... the prize

     Dead Greece vouchsafes to living eyes, —

     Her Art for ever in fresh wise

     From hour to hour rejoicing me.

   • 1866, Algernon Swinburne, A Ballad of Life, lines 28-30

     A riven hood was pulled across his eyes;

     The token of him being upon this wise

     Made for a sign of Lust.

   • 1926, J. S. Fletcher, Sea Fog, page 308

     And within a few minutes the rest of us were on our way too, judiciously instructed by Parkapple and the Brighton official, and disposed of in two taxi-cabs, the drivers of which were ordered to convey us to Rottingdean in such wise that each set his load of humanity at different parts of the village and at the same time that the bus was due to arrive at the hotel.

   • 1925-29, Mahadev Desai (translator), M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Part I, chapter xviii^[1]:

     Meantime a serious question came up for discussion. […] The discussion arose somewhat in this wise. The President of the Society was Mr. Hills, proprietor of the Thames Iron Works. He was a puritan. It may be said that the existence of the Society depended practically on his financial assistance. Many members of the Committee were more or less his protégés. Dr. Allinson of vegetarian fame was also a member of the Committee. He was an advocate of the then new birth control movement, and preached its methods among the working classes. Mr. Hills regarded these methods as cutting at the root of morals. He thought that the Vegetarian Society had for its object not only dietetic but also moral reform, and that a man of Dr. Allinson's anti-puritanic views should not be allowed to remain in the Society. A motion was therefore brought for his removal.

Derived terms

• -wise

Etymology 3

From Middle English wisen (“to advise, direct”), from Old English wisian (“to show the way, guide, direct”), from Proto-West Germanic *w?sijan, from Proto-Germanic *w?san?, *w?sijan? (“to show the way, dispense knowledge”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to know”).

Cognate with Dutch wijzen (“to indicate, point out”), German weisen (“to show, indicate”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål vise (“to show”), Norwegian Nynorsk visa (“to show”).

Verb

wise (third-person singular simple present wises, present participle wising, simple past and past participle wised)

1. (dialectal) To instruct.
2. (dialectal) To advise; induce.
3. (dialectal) To show the way, guide.
4. (dialectal) To direct the course of, pilot.
5. (dialectal) To cause to turn.

Middle Dutch

Contraction

wise

1. Contraction of wi se.

Middle English

Noun

wise

1. Alternative form of vice

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *w?s?, *w?saz. Cognate with Dutch wijze, German Weise, Swedish vis, Italian guisa, Spanish guisa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?wi?.se/, [?wi?.ze]

Noun

w?se f

1. way (manner)

Declension

English

Etymology

From Middle English discrete, from Old French discret, from Latin discr?tus, from past participle of discernere. Doublet of discrete.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??sk?i?t/
• Rhymes: -i?t
• Homophone: discrete (separable into parts)

Adjective

discreet (comparative more discreet or discreeter, superlative most discreet or discreetest)

1. Respectful of privacy or secrecy; exercising caution in order to avoid causing embarrassment; quiet; diplomatic.

   With a discreet gesture, she reminded him to mind his manners.

   John just doesn't understand that laughing at Mary all day is not very discreet.

2. Not drawing attention, anger or challenge; inconspicuous.

Usage notes

• Although cognate and identical in the Middle English period, the term has become distinct from discrete.

Derived terms

• discreetly
• discretion

Translations

Anagrams

• desertic, discrete

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch discreet, from Old French discret, from Medieval Latin discr?tus, from discern?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d?s?kre?t/
• Hyphenation: dis?creet
• Rhymes: -e?t

Adjective

discreet (comparative discreter, superlative discreetst)

1. discreet (with discretion)
2. discrete (not continuous)

Inflection

Derived terms

• discretie