discretionary
Americanadjective
-
subject or left to one's own discretion.
-
for any use or purpose one chooses; not earmarked for a particular purpose.
discretionary income; a discretionary fund.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- discretionarily adverb
- nondiscretionary adjective
Etymology
Origin of discretionary
First recorded in 1690–1700; discretion + -ary
Explanation
Discretionary means it's up to you to decide. Bathing regularly is a discretionary act, so you can opt not to do it if you want; note, however, that your friends might disagree with us on this. Discretionary is often used to describe money that isn’t designated for a particular purpose. It’s up to the people in charge to decide how discretionary funds should be spent. Discretionary comes from the word discretion, which can be used to mean “the right to decide something based on one’s own judgment.” If you're given a task to complete at your discretion, you can decide how you want to do it — or whether you want to do it at all.
Vocabulary lists containing discretionary
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
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Just Mercy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That would bode well for consumer discretionary stocks in particular.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
Consumer staples, consumer discretionary and industrial stocks are seen expanding per-share profits in the low single-digit percent range.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
Analyst Bradley Thomas said that suggests there is a risk that consumers will start pulling back on discretionary spending in the current quarter, after the positive jolt provided by higher tax refunds passes.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026
Looking ahead, higher oil and gas prices may reduce consumer demand for discretionary purchases, said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026
Spoade was the world’s champion sitter-around, no holds barred and gouging discretionary.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
