I’ve written more than one post about the closely related terms homophone and homonym.\u00a0 (See here<\/a> and here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Today I’ll highlight a pair of words that qualify as both homophones and homonyms: discreet<\/strong> and discrete<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Discreet<\/strong> means, from my point of view, keeping things unknown that shouldn’t be known, or keeping things unseen that shouldn’t be seen. So if a person is discreet, they will keep a secret. A discreet outfit is one that doesn’t overly show the goods. My Oxford Canadian Dictionary<\/u> agrees with my sense of the word.<\/p>\n Discrete<\/strong>, on the other hand, means separate and self-contained, I’d say. Oxford Canadian<\/u> might do a little better, defining discrete as “individual and distinct.” In my post from yesterday<\/a> I describe molecules as separate and self-contained; discrete would be an even better description.<\/p>\n So there we have them: discreet and discrete. I don’t think you’ll find a better example of homophones, or of homonyms, than those two words:)<\/p>\n