adjective · academic
discretionary
/dɪˈskrɛʃənəri/dis·CRE·tion·ary
Band 7+speakingtask2
available for use at one's own discretion; not required or mandatory, often used about spending
Examples
“During a recession, households often cut discretionary spending first.”
“Discretionary funds can be used for entertainment or non-essential purchases.”
“The manager has discretionary power to approve bonuses.”
Band 8 sentence
“Policymakers should distinguish between essential support and discretionary spending when designing social welfare programs.”
Collocations
- discretionary spending
- discretionary income
- discretionary power
Word family
discretion noundiscretionarily adverb
Common mistakes
luxury→discretionary
Say it for a higher band
5extra→6optional→7+discretionary
Synonyms
optional
Easily confused
optional
“Participation in the workshop is optional, so you can choose whether to join.”
Related words
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In Shopping & Money
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