discretionary
Americanadjective
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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.
He’s the author of a forthcoming book Pardons: Discretionary Clemency and the Rule of Law in Britain and America 1066–2026, all about the history of U.S. presidential pardons and the power they hold.
From Slate • Apr. 16, 2026
The S&P 500 is down over 3% from its January record, with Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors down 7% amid AI competition fears.
From Barron's • Mar. 6, 2026
Discretionary spending rose 0.4%, reflecting the expansion of Black Friday sales and strong attendance at sporting and concert events, the data showed.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026
Discretionary Olympic spots are infrequent, but in 2023, fencer Olga Kharlan received a place at Paris 2024 from former IOC President Thomas Bach.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2026
"Discretionary powers" sounded as if he thought she was a quite intelligent young person.
From The Rose-Garden Husband by Widdemer, Margaret
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.
