What does "discretionary" mean?

Available at one's discretion; able to be used as one chooses; left to or regulated by one's own discretion or judgment.

What is a synonym for "discretionary"?

Common synonyms include: arbitrary, autonomous, discretional, discretional, elective, elective.

How do you pronounce "discretionary"?

Pronounced //dɪsˈkɹɛʃəˌnɛɹi//.

Discretionary

//dɪsˈkɹɛʃəˌnɛɹi// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1
Available at one's discretion; able to be used as one chooses; left to or regulated by one's own discretion or judgment.
"discretionary income"

Adjective

1
having or using the ability to act or decide according to your own discretion or judgment wordnet
2
(especially of funds) not earmarked; available for use as needed wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

arbitrary autonomous discretional discretional elective elective

Antonyms

All antonyms

mandatory obligate requisite

Example

More examples

"Each member of the city council received an annual allocation of discretionary funds which could be used to support special projects in their respective council districts."

Etymology

From discretion + -ary (“pertaining to”). Compare French discrétionnaire.

More for "discretionary"

Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Translate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation Browse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.