discretionary

adjective dis·cre·tion·ary \ -ˈkre-shə-ˌner-ē \

|Updated on: 17 Aug 2018

Examples: discretionary in a Sentence

Definition of discretionary

1 : left to individual choice or judgment : exercised at one's own discretion

discretionary powers

2 : available for discretionary use

discretionary income

See discretionary defined for English-language learners

Examples of discretionary in a Sentence

discretionary spending on luxuries dropped dramatically last year

Recent Examples of discretionary from the Web

The clinician will be funded through discretionary funds from County Supervisor Patrick Kennedy.

— hannah holzer, sacbee, "STD rates rise in Sacramento County, following statewide, nationwide trends," 2 July 2018
Congress funds the Pentagon, the State Department and most domestic programs out of annual discretionary funds.

— jonathan allen, NBC News, "The era of Trump deficits has begun," 12 Feb. 2018
The money available for your annual discretionary spending would climb by $23,000, to $87,000, according to MaxiFi Planner.

— peter finch, New York Times, "Countdown to Retirement: A Five-Year Plan," 6 July 2018
The drawback is that your monthly mortgage payment will be higher, which means less money for discretionary spending as well as for saving.

— Sunset, "How to Make Sense of 3 Common Types of Home Loans," 22 Jan. 2018
Corporate news drove swings in individual stocks throughout the week, propelling shares of industrial, technology and consumer discretionary firms up more than 2% apiece in the S&P 500.

— akane otani, WSJ, "U.S. Stocks Rise, Post Weekly Gains," 13 July 2018
Well, since this is a discretionary court, most anything could come before her.

— Fox News, "Gowdy to Schiff: GOP doesn't give a damn what you think," 6 July 2018
This way, each person is responsible for all of their own discretionary spending.

— nathan bachrach, Cincinnati.com, "How to deal with a 'forced retirement'," 27 June 2018
Under the council's rules, any discretionary spending below $5,000 that is approved by its appropriations committee goes directly to the Office of Management & Budget for review.

— phillip m. bailey, The Courier-Journal, "Investigation continues into Derby spending by Metro Council Democrat," 21 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'discretionary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of discretionary

see discreet

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1698

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

discretionary Synonyms

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

DISCRETIONARY Defined for English Language Learners

discretionary

adjective

Definition of discretionary for English Language Learners

: available to be used when and how you decide
: done or used when necessary

Law Dictionary

discretionary

adjective dis·cre·tion·ary \ dis-ˈkre-shə-ˌner-ē \

legal Definition of discretionary

: left to discretion : exercised at one's own discretion; specifically : relating to the policy-making function of a public official — see also Federal Tort Claims Act — compare ministerial

Note: A public official generally has qualified immunity from lawsuits that arise from his or her discretionary acts.