How to use discreetly in a sentence

17 example sentences · adverb

Discreetly means acting in a discreet manner; acting in a way that respects privacy or secrecy; quietly. Example: “Chou had been discreetly glancing at his watch with increasing frequency, so I decided that I should try to bring the session to a close.”

Examples of discreetly by meaning

adverbActing in a discreet manner; acting in a way that respects privacy or secrecy; quietly.

Chou had been discreetly glancing at his watch with increasing frequency, so I decided that I should try to bring the session to a close.1978, Richard Nixon, RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, page 563

adverbInconspicuously.

And, placed discreetly among these commonplaces, a few pieces of genuine quality, bizarrely distinguished by craftsmanship from the vulgar products of the machine.1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 150
Blue hares, deer, wild geese, herons and duck can be discreetly observed from the hides.1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 382, about Tighnabruaich

More sentences with discreetly

Monoculars are designed to fit discreetly in the hand, improving their cosmetic appearance.2010, Duane R. Geruschat, Audrey J. Smith, “Low Vision for Orientation and Mobility”, in Foundations of Orientation and Mobility, 3rd…. From the entry monocular
They just unhook themselves, like removing a fake beard, and skulk discreetly back into society, changed men.2000, Zadie Smith, White Teeth, London: Hamish Hamilton, →ISBN, page 16. From the entry skulk
Carefully and discreetly they sailed up the West River and reached Shiuhing.1957, Jerome D'Souza, “Giants of Asia”, in Thomas J. M. Burke, editor, Beyond All Horizons: Jesuits and the Missions, Garden City, New…. From the entry Shiuhing
And as she supped her tea she smiled discreetly at him over the brim.1913, Norman Lindsay, A Curate in Bohemia, Sydney: N.S.W. Bookstall Co., published 1932, page 80. From the entry sup
We would touch strangers discreetly, feathering down their cowlicks.2022, Ling Ma, “G”, in Bliss Montage, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN. From the entry cowlick
In Prada he had nudged me discreetly to point out a C-list celebrity contemplating an overpriced pair of slip-ons.2002, Andrea Semple, The Ex-Factor, →ISBN, page 4. From the entry C-list
More discreetly set on the sideboy were bottles of vodka and whiskey and a box of Cuban cigars.1989, Larry Collins, Maze. From the entry sideboy
Later we shared a bath with foam up to our ears, like they always discreetly have in films.1988, Alan Hollinghurst, chapter 7, in The Swimming-Pool Library, paperback edition, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 163. From the entry foam
Arriving at the closed door, he knocked, and then looked up to the discreetly mounted fish-eyed camera that was at the ceiling.2023, J. R. Ward [pen name; Jessica Rowley Pell Bird Blakemore], Forever, Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 284. From the entry fish-eyed
The males assembled in the region of the bar and the opposite gender either sat discreetly detached or strayed outside to gossip gaily among themselves.2008, Peter Hewitt, Kenya Cowboy: A Police Officer's Account of the Mau Mau Emergency, →ISBN, page 64. From the entry apartheid
Osakans boast of this passion, noting that they are unlike the people of nearby Kyoto, who discreetly spend their money on luxurious clothes and furnishings.1987 June 7, Amanda Mayer Stinchecum, “Shopper's World: Osaka's Flavorful Feast of Noodles”, in The New York Times, archived from the…. From the entry Osakan
In India and in the Formosa Straits area, and at the truce negotiations at Panmunjom, we dropped the word, discreetly, of our intention.1963, Dwight Eisenhower, Mandate for Change 1953-1956, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 181. From the entry Formosa Straits
If he could, Cesidio would throw in a free 'haddie' or a haggis with the scratchings, offering a helping hand discreetly, with no thanks asked for.2006, Mary Contini, Dear Olivia: An Italian Journey of Love and Courage, →ISBN, page 185. From the entry scratching
The boxer-short style, on the other hand, remains a wise choice regardless, since it’s almost impossible to look bad in something that covers so much territory so discreetly.2000, Ana Veciana-Suarez, Birthday Parties in Heaven: Thoughts on Love, Life, Grief, and Other Matters of the Heart, Plume, →ISBN, page 36. From the entry boxer-short

Meaning of discreetly

adverb Acting in a discreet manner; acting in a way that respects privacy or secrecy; quietly.
adverb Inconspicuously.

Full definition of discreetly

Questions about discreetly in a sentence

How do you use discreetly in a sentence?: Discreetly is used as an adverb. For example: “Chou had been discreetly glancing at his watch with increasing frequency, so I decided that I should try to bring the session to a close.”
What is a short sentence with discreetly?: “We would touch strangers discreetly, feathering down their cowlicks.”
What does discreetly mean?: Discreetly means acting in a discreet manner; acting in a way that respects privacy or secrecy; quietly.

Adapted from Wiktionary: discreetly (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use discreetly in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/discreetly. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.