Meaning & use
sole discretion
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phraseformallegal
The right of one person or group to decide something alone, without needing anyone else's agreement.
Grammar: Often used after 'at someone's' or 'in someone's': at the manager's sole discretion.
Patterns
- at someone's sole discretion
- in someone's sole discretion
- have sole discretion to do something
The company may change the schedule at its sole discretion.
Refunds are given at the sole discretion of the store manager.
The board has sole discretion to approve or reject the plan.
Common combinations
- at someone's sole discretion
- The prize can be withdrawn at the judges' sole discretion.
- in someone's sole discretion
- Whether to extend the deadline is in the director's sole discretion.
- have sole discretion
- Only the CEO has sole discretion over the budget.
- the sole discretion of someone
- Admission is at the sole discretion of the committee.
Synonyms and how they differ
- complete discretion
- Very similar, but 'complete' can suggest a wide range of choices, while 'sole' stresses that no one else shares the decision.
- final say
- More informal and means the last decision, not necessarily the only decision-maker.
Word family
- discretion noun
- The general ability or freedom to decide what is best.
- discretionary adjective
- Describes something that can be decided by choice rather than by rule.
Commonly confused: sole discretion or discrete?
sole discretion vs discrete
Sounds similar but means separate and distinct, not related to making decisions.
Practice
The final choice of winner is ___ the sole discretion of the head judge.
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase is 'at the sole discretion of someone'. 'In' can appear in 'in someone's sole discretion', but with 'the ... of the head judge', 'at' is the standard choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sole discretion”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.