What's the difference between discreet and modest?

Discreet


Definition:

  • (superl.) Possessed of discernment, especially in avoiding error or evil, and in the adaptation of means to ends; prudent; sagacious; judicious; not rash or heedless; cautious.
  • (superl.) Differing; distinct.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) By indirect immunofluorescence, fibronectin is seen as arrays of long fibers in fibroblastic ECM, whereas in endothelial ECM, fibronectin is found in discreet foci as short fibers.
  • (2) MRT proved to the superior to CT. CT demonstrated a discreet temporal lobe lesion in three patients and MRT in four patients.
  • (3) The best senior staff are discreet, disciplined, hard-working, collaborative and almost invisible.
  • (4) Like his wind turbine though, discreetly taken down some months later, many people are now concluding that Cameron's promise to lead the " greenest government ever " was little more than a fraudulent gimmick, a PR stunt from a man schooled in the PR industry.
  • (5) The application of these principles and the use of specific treatment modalities to manage the discreet manifestations of dry eye syndrome can lead to successful management in the majority of cases, with the preservation of useful vision and the relief of symptoms.
  • (6) Out of 80 preschool children, 8% of them had clinically evident signs of a possible cortical lesion, which were discreet and regarded the visuomotor, in other words visuoconstructive functions.
  • (7) Six royal aides and lawyers were seen at one hearing discreetly monitoring the arguments.
  • (8) Sampson became the discreet, muttering centre of a web, connected by telephone and letter, telegram and fax, to an astounding cast of world leaders and commentarians, film stars and novelists.
  • (9) Normally, its diplomats try to maintain as low a profile as possible, conducting business through discreet lunches and dinners rather than mounting such high-profile lobbying exercises.
  • (10) Still, Suleimani was discreetly involved in negotiations with the US after the September 11 attacks, when Iran offered help to US forces in Afghanistan – until George W Bush included Tehran in "the axis of evil".
  • (11) Unlike more discreet foreign envoys in London, the ambassador is not afraid to state his views publicly and forcefully.
  • (12) folds up its comedy deckchair, presses mute on the trombones and drapes a hand towel discreetly over Mark's crotch.
  • (13) Using skills acquired in his first job with the accountancy giant PricewaterhouseCoopers and his second, buying and selling companies for JP Morgan, he minted a commercial model from the calm opulence of United's discreet Mayfair office that soon became the envy of the football world.
  • (14) It feels wrong to call for them to be dropped but Stoke fans discreetly admit that their inability to galumph around the pitch as effectively as before is one of the reasons for the team’s recent vulnerability.
  • (15) One day after the last day of exposure, the animals were decapitated and steady state concentrations of norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-mandelic acid (VMA), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenyl glycol (MOPEG), dihydroxphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) were determined in six discreet brain regions using electrochemical high-performance liquid chromatography.
  • (16) One of these approaches, the neurobehavioral model of cocaine dependency treatment establishes a clear timetable for cocaine recovery and focusses attention on four discreet areas of functioning.
  • (17) This is also true for discreet and partial ossification defects which are not visible on conventional x-rays and are described here for the first time.
  • (18) We piloted the Forget-Me-Not Challenge, encouraging departments to identify patients who have dementia or who are confused by placing a discreet picture of a forget-me-not above their bed.
  • (19) However, Condé Nast insiders say Greig's resignation is expected within days and the glossy magazine publisher's managing director, Nicolas Coleridge, is understood to be discreetly searching for a replacement Tatler editor.
  • (20) They pioneered ways of discreetly carving out spaces where other codes apply, protected by cryptic passwords.

Modest


Definition:

  • (a.) Restraining within due limits of propriety; not forward, bold, boastful, or presumptious; rather retiring than pushing one's self forward; not obstructive; as, a modest youth; a modest man.
  • (a.) Observing the proprieties of the sex; not unwomanly in act or bearing; free from undue familiarity, indecency, or lewdness; decent in speech and demeanor; -- said of a woman.
  • (a.) Evincing modestly in the actor, author, or speaker; not showing presumption; not excessive or extreme; moderate; as, a modest request; modest joy.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Incubation with IFN alpha or IFN gamma for 24 h resulted in only modest cytokinetic alterations, and they did not modify the effects of FUra.
  • (2) The active agents modestly improved treadmill exercise duration time until 1 mm ST segment depression (3%), and only propranolol and diltiazem had significant effects.
  • (3) Brown's model, which goes far further than those from any other senior Labour figure, and the modest new income tax powers for Holyrood devised when he was prime minister, edge the party much closer to the quasi-federal plans championed by the Liberal Democrats.
  • (4) The standard varies from modest to lavish – choose carefully and you could be staying in an antique-filled room with your host's paintings on the walls, and breakfasting on the veranda of a tropical garden.
  • (5) Bupropion, in contrast, had a modest effect only in CD-1 mice.
  • (6) These data support a modest role for alpha 1-adrenergic coronary vasoconstriction during exercise but fail to document an additional role for postsynaptic alpha 2-adrenergic coronary vasoconstriction during exercise.
  • (7) Alterations in mean systolic blood pressure appeared to be modest, consisting of a 10 percent decrease from the control level, related to sedation, and a 10 percent rise from baseline during the procedure, associated with a concomitant mild tachycardia.
  • (8) The patient made modest improvement with high-dose intravenous steroids.
  • (9) Modest reductions in renal function as measured by clearances of inulin and p-aminohippurate occurred acutely only in the patients with renal impairment.
  • (10) Although the debate in the US has led to some piecemeal reforms – including the USA Freedom Act and modest policy changes – many of the most intrusive government surveillance programs remain largely intact.
  • (11) Ultimately, both Geffen and Browne turned out to be correct: establishing the pattern for Zevon's career, the albums sold modestly but the critics loved them.
  • (12) Simultaneous metabolic studies of human normal fibrinogen and asialofibrinogen in rabbits revealed only a modest decrease in the half-life of the asialoprotein compared to the intact protein, with no preferential uptake of the asialo-derivative by the liver.
  • (13) Levels of involvement in the program were modest, with only 16% of those screened having over 10 clinical contacts and 24% still involved after 3 months.
  • (14) Testosterone and estrogen administration at low or modest doses to individuals with the capacity to produce GH causes GH production and IGF-I levels to increase.
  • (15) The more modest effect of (n-3) fatty acid supplementation in decreasing LTB4 generation was not due to blockade of the cyclooxygenase pathway.
  • (16) The effect of volume expansion on sodium, calcium and magnesium remaining in the proximal tubule was relatively modest and not affected by furosemide.
  • (17) On the other side of the Atlantic, a more modest, quieter challenger plans to take on the US electric car giant.
  • (18) In conclusion, a zipper technique has been outlined that allows effective continuing drainage of the septic abdomen, permits early diagnosis of organ damage, is rapid and cost effective, minimizes ventilator dependency and gastrointestinal complications, is well tolerated by the patients, and has produced a modest 65 per cent survival rate in the first 34 critically ill patients in whom it was used.
  • (19) In order to improve the modest oral activity of PGE2 as an inhibitor of gastric acid secretion, analogs were prepared and tested orally in histamine-challenged rats.
  • (20) Specific binding of insulin did not differ between control and modestly insulinopenic diabetics but was increased significantly in the severely insulinopenic diabetics.