Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and today we’re going to talk about the difference between discrete and discreet. I know, that didn’t help you out much. This being radio and all. Let’s call one of these “discreet double e,” DISCREET, and the other one “discrete single e,” DISCRETE.

You might be thinking this is another one of those British-American spelling distinctions, but actually, these are two completely different words. Discreet-double-e describes something you do on the downlow. I am discreetly borrowing things from my parents’ pantry when I go home to visit. Discrete-single-e is referring to non-continuous quantities. People, for example, come in discrete quantities because you can’t have half a people.

I’ve seen a book where these spellings were used interchangeably. As in, both were used on the same page to mean the same thing. Don’t be that person. Be discreet.

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