discreetly
discreetly — adverb
1. acting or speaking with careful self-control so that other people are not bother
acting or speaking with careful self-control so that other people are not bothered, embarrassed, or made aware of something you do not want them to know
Daichi discreetly slipped the envelope into his briefcase while no one was watching.
discreetly + verb of movement (slip)
The receptionist discreetly informed us that the manager was in a meeting.
discreetly + verb of communication (inform)
Élise discreetly checked her watch during the speech, hoping nobody noticed.
Ziad discreetly asked the waiter to bring the check before his guests could see it.
The security guard discreetly escorted the noisy visitor to the exit.
- quietly
emphasises lack of noise rather than tact; less formal
- tactfully
focuses on avoiding offence in communication specifically
- unobtrusively
more formal; stresses not drawing any attention at all
- privately
suggests the action is hidden from others' knowledge entirely
- openly
done without concealment
- blatantly
done in an obvious and unashamed way
- conspicuously
attracting notice deliberately
文法句型
discreetly + verb
verb + discreetly
用法筆記
Commonly used with verbs of communication (ask, inform, mention, tell) and verbs of movement (slip, leave, place, escort). Pre-verbal position is more frequent but the adverb can also follow the verb when emphasis is needed.