团结群体:prudent,discreet,cautious都是"谨慎的",有何区别?

cautious 语气比 careful强，指行事考虑后果，为了避免出差错或危险而对自己说的话
或做的事十分小心谨慎。

1) You should be intensely cautious/carefully not to make any mistake in
figures you use in the report.
你应该非常谨慎，在你报告中使用的数据千万不要出差错。
2）He was even more cautious than ever, and did his utmost to win the trust
and favour of the superior.
他更加谨小慎微, 兢兢业业, 以尽力取信讨好其上司。
3）You should be cautious when you cross the street.
过马路时，你要小心。
4) The instructor warned time and again that we must be very cautious in
handling these chemicals.
老师一再告诫我们处理这些化学物质必须谨慎小心。

meticulous 指对细节十分仔细，或办事谨小慎微。

1) He is so meticulous that he will never do anything in hasty.
他做事极其细致,从不仓促行事。
2）A teacher must be meticulous with knowledge because mistakes do great harm
to students.
教师必须严谨治学，因为错误会给学生带来巨大的危害。
3）Her room is always prepared with meticulous care.
她的房间总是经过细心布置。
4）We must be meticulous in planning the use of men and material.
我们对人力物力的使用要精打细算。

discreet 指言行十分谨慎，或指处事慎重。

1) My secretary is very discreet. She never talks anything about the company’s
business with anyone unconcerned.
我的秘书很谨慎，她从不与无关人员谈论关于公司的业务。
2) He was too discreet to mention the matter in front of his mother.
他说话很谨慎，在他母亲面前没有提这件事的。
3）He was discreet in answering the questions, kowing that telephone
conversations could be taped.
他回答十分谨慎，知道电话对话可能被录音。
4）Be more discreet or you'll get yourself talked about.
你说话要更谨慎些，否则就会成为人们的话柄。
5）He was very discreet in giving his opinions on the problem.
在这个问题上，他发表意见十分慎重。

prudent 指待人处事，对待事物问题的态度非常谨慎、慎重，或指在做决定和判断时慎
重、 明智、深谋远虑。

1）In my opinion, we should take a prudent attitude towards the incident
happening there.
我认为对那里发生了事故我们应该采取谨慎态度。
2）Though my younger brother is still a young man, he is experienced and
prudent.
尽管我弟弟还年轻，但他老成持重。
3) We should be prudent when doing business, but you will agree with me that
we should not get overcautious.
做生意的时候,我们应该谨慎,但你会同意我的看法，我们不应过分谨慎。
4）Because Mike’s judgment was prudent, his insights were central to any
consultation.
因为迈克考虑问题很慎重，所以他的意见在每次磋商时都最受重视。

prudent
adjective SLIGHTLY FORMAL
avoiding risks and uncertainties; careful:
[+ to infinitive] It's always prudent to read a contract properly before signing it.
NOTE: The opposite is imprudent.

prudently
adverb SLIGHTLY FORMAL

prudence
noun [U] SLIGHTLY FORMAL
The firm was commended for its financial prudence.

discreet
adjective
careful not to cause embarrassment or attract too much attention, especially by keeping something secret:
The family made discreet enquiries about his background.
They are very good assistants, very discreet - they wouldn't go shouting to the press about anything they discovered while working for you.
NOTE: Do not confuse with discrete.

discreetly
adverb

discretion
noun [U]
1 the ability to behave without causing embarrassment or attracting too much attention, especially by keeping information secret:
"Can you trust him with this?" "Yes, he's the soul of discretion (= he will not tell other people)."

2 FORMAL the right or ability to decide something:
Students can be expelled at the discretion of the headteacher (= if the headteacher decides it).
I leave the decision to your discretion (= to your good judgment).

discretionary
adjective FORMAL
decided by officials and not fixed by rules:
a discretionary grant
Judges have great discretionary powers.

caution (CARE)
noun [U]
great care and attention:
We need to proceed with/exercise caution (= be careful in taking action, making decisions, etc.)
They treated the story of his escape with (some/great/extreme) caution (= thought that it might not be true).

cautious
adjective
1 describes someone who avoids risks:
He's a cautious driver.

2 describes something which is careful, well considered and sometimes slow or uncertain:
a cautious approach
cautious criticism

cautiously
adverb
in a cautious way

cautiousness
noun [U]

For more detail use http://www.dictionary.com

A good English only dictionary is really the only way to get a good understanding of the different meanings of words.