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
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.
A cash or bond reserve, a flexible spending plan and an ability to reduce discretionary spending during a market downturn would help manage that risk.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
Investors view it as a proxy for the discretionary cash a company has left over after reinvesting in its business, which it can use to reward shareholders or pay down debt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Among a sea of decliners, there were a number of standouts that lost 20% or more for the month, from various sectors including technology, financials and consumer discretionary.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
To close a deficit of more than $200 million that it announced last year, USC froze hiring, laid off roughly 1,000 workers, eliminated merit raises, sold unused buildings and cut discretionary spending.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
Most prosecutors’ offices lack any manual or guidebook advising prosecutors how to make discretionary decisions.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
