Competence
Competence noun - The physical or mental power to do something.
Discretion and competence are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Discretion" instead a noun "Competence".
Discretion
Discretion noun - The ability to make intelligent decisions especially in everyday matters.
Competence and discretion are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Competence" instead a noun "Discretion".
Mutual synonyms
How words are described
| actual | actual competence | actual discretion |
| extreme | extreme competence | extreme discretion |
| social | social competence | social discretion |
| less | less competence | less discretion |
| Other adjectives: resembling. | ||
Both words in one sentence
- A bit of self-aware humor in the US government is that the proof that there is no vast government conspiracy to cover up the existence of aliens is that such a conspiracy would rely on the idea that the US government is capable of doing anything with anything resembling competence or discretion.
Source: Hanlon's Razor
Cite this Source
Discretion and Competence. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 27, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/competence/discretion
Competence & Discretion. N.p., 2016. Web. 27 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/competence/discretion>.
Discretion or Competence. 2016. Accessed July 27, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/competence/discretion.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "competence" and "discretion" have occurred on timeline