as in optional
subject to one's freedom of choice
discretionary spending on luxuries dropped dramatically last year
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Recent Examples of discretionary
Officials also put new protections in place when issuing contracts, such as requiring the county’s contract procurement office to review all contracts that come from supervisors’ discretionary funds.
—
Michael Slaten, Oc Register, 13 Aug. 2025
Attorneys representing the city, school board and Santiago argued that their decisions were not ministerial but rather discretionary, meaning they were not legally required to act in a certain way but were rather making decisions based on personal judgment.
—Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 12 Aug. 2025
Retailers have been hit by softer discretionary spending, higher costs and changing consumer habits, prompting store closures.
—Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025
Shoppers are more selective than ever with their discretionary dollars, and Stitch Fix’s $20 styling fee can feel unnecessary when customers can purchase many of the same items the retailer offers right off the rack and directly from the brand.
—Gabrielle Fonrouge, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for discretionary
Michael Slaten, Oc Register, 13 Aug. 2025
Attorneys representing the city, school board and Santiago argued that their decisions were not ministerial but rather discretionary, meaning they were not legally required to act in a certain way but were rather making decisions based on personal judgment.
—Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 12 Aug. 2025
Retailers have been hit by softer discretionary spending, higher costs and changing consumer habits, prompting store closures.
—Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025
Shoppers are more selective than ever with their discretionary dollars, and Stitch Fix’s $20 styling fee can feel unnecessary when customers can purchase many of the same items the retailer offers right off the rack and directly from the brand.
—Gabrielle Fonrouge, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for discretionary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discretionary
Adjective
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Final Thoughts Adaptive leadership is not optional in today’s world.—
Jason Ballard,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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Even with this part being optional, most people grabbed paper and jotted down their reasons for yelling.—
Dominick Williams
August 6,
Kansas City Star,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The program is voluntary for anyone who has Part D, such as a stand-alone plan or coverage included in a Medicare Advantage plan.—
Diane Omdahl,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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At the time, Commissioner Dave Young and former Commissioner Pat South asked the development’s owner to levy voluntary impact fees to offset initial costs for new students.—
Victoria Moorwood,
The Enquirer,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Discretionary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discretionary. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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