Decision to not speak on confidential matters

Question

I'm looking for a word:

I discussed certain confidential matters with my client. She relied on my __ in not speaking of them.

There's a word specifically for this situation, better than "restraint" and essentially opposite to "openness".

Brian Hooper · Accepted Answer · 2012-07-03 22:01:21Z

up vote 22 down vote accepted

Discretion is probably what you are looking for here (meaning 2, or meaning 1 here).

answered Jul 3 '12 at 22:01

Brian Hooper
13.5k238101

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者 · Answer 2 · 2012-07-04 16:32:07Z

up vote 10 down vote

You could use discretion here:

discretion

: the quality of having or showing discernment or good judgment : the quality of being discreet

edited Jul 4 '12 at 16:32

answered Jul 3 '12 at 22:00

cornbread ninja 麵包忍者
13.7k22953

4

Confidence is wrong here: it's the client who has confidence (in the speaker's discretion). – ruakh Jul 3 '12 at 22:02

2

ruakh is correct. She told you in confidence, trusting your discretion. – Dean Jul 4 '12 at 7:17