indiscreet
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of indiscreet
1375–1425; late Middle English indiscret (probably < Middle French ) < Latin indiscrētus undivided; see indiscrete
Explanation
Someone indiscreet lacks discretion and doesn’t know when to keep things on the down low. Going to see your ex-girlfriend’s band with your new girlfriend would be indiscreet. An indiscreet person would blab your secrets to everyone. An indiscreet person is loud, inappropriate, and thoughtless. While being discreet implies caution, being indiscreet is wild and careless. An indiscreet boss will correct your mistake in front of everyone, humiliating you. If you commit a crime and are indiscreet by running from a bank robbery with marked bills flying out of your pocket, you’re much more likely to get caught.
Vocabulary lists containing indiscreet
Bill Withers (1938–2020) Tribute List
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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
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Mara, Daughter of the Nile
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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.
The Senator Was Indiscreet George S. Kaufman directs this 1947 comedy starring William Powell as a not terribly bright politician who decides to run for president.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 19, 2020
This was a period in which he demonstrated his knack for the dapper romantic comedy-thriller, beginning a new relationship with Cary Grant in films like Charade and Indiscreet.
From The Guardian • Feb. 24, 2019
It was August in New York, asking me to write the band’s book, Indiscreet, now going for silly money on eBay.
From The Guardian • May 20, 2016
At the Washington showings of The Senator Was Indiscreet, Government bigwigs got a laugh out of the senator's proclaiming himself "Against inflation, against deflation, for flation."
From Time Magazine Archive
Indiscreet and naughty she might be, but Betty was not a cat.
From Tante by Sedgwick, Anne Douglas
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.
