discern

English

Etymology

From Middle English discernen, from Old French discerner, from Latin discernere (“to separate, divide, distinguish, discern”), from dis- (“apart”) + cernere (“to separate”); see certain.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)n

(modern pronunciation)

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈsɜːn/
• (US) IPA^(key): /dɪˈsɝn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

(older pronunciation)

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈzɜːn/
• (US) IPA^(key): /dɪˈzɝn/

Verb

discern (third-person singular simple present discerns, present participle discerning, simple past and past participle discerned)

1. (transitive) To detect with the senses, especially with the eyes.
   • 1875, Jules Verne you are no HELP!, chapter 1, in The Survivors of the Chancellor‎^[1], archived from the original on 12 April 2012:

     Meanwhile the brig had altered her tack, and was moving slowly to the east. Three hours later and the keenest eye could not have discerned her top-sails above the horizon.

2. (transitive) To perceive, recognize, or comprehend with the mind; to descry.
   • 1842, Charles Dickens, American Notes for General Circulation‎^[2], archived from the original on 19 May 2011:

     If they discern any evidences of wrong-going in any direction that I have indicated, they will acknowledge that I had reason in what I wrote. If they discern no such thing, they will consider me altogether mistaken.

3. (transitive) To distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate or discriminate.

   He was too young to discern right from wrong.

   • 1651, Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan‎^[3], archived from the original on 7 June 2011:

     The severity of judgement, they say, makes men censorious and unapt to pardon the errors and infirmities of other men: and on the other side, celerity of fancy makes the thoughts less steady than is necessary to discern exactly between right and wrong.

4. (intransitive) To perceive differences.

Synonyms

• (detect with the senses): See also Thesaurus:perceive
  • (especially with the eyes): behold, see; see also Thesaurus:see
• (perceive, recognize, or comprehend with the mind): ken, spy; see also Thesaurus:spot
• (distinguish something as being different): discriminate, distinguish; see also Thesaurus:tell apart

Derived terms

• discernability
• discernable
• discernance
• discernible
• discernment
• indiscernible
• misdiscern
• undiscerned

 

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *krey- (0 c, 86 e)

Translations

to detect with the senses, especially with the eyes

• Bulgarian: съзирам (bg) (sǎziram)
• Czech: všimnout si (cs) pf, všímat si impf, vnímat (cs) impf, zpozorovat (cs) pf, zaznamenat (cs) pf
• Finnish: huomata (fi), havaita (fi), (with eyes) nähdä (fi)
• French: discerner (fr)
• Galician: albiscar (gl), aperceber
• German: erkennen (de), wahrnehmen (de), bemerken (de), feststellen (de), merken (de), mitbekommen (de)
• Italian: percepire (it)
• Korean: 인지하다 (ko) (injihada)
• Latin: dispicio, dispecto, prospicio
• Polish: dostrzec (pl), dostrzegać (pl), zauważyć (pl), zauważać (pl)
• Portuguese: perceber (pt)
• Romanian: discerne (ro), percepe (ro)
• Russian: распознава́ть (ru) impf (raspoznavátʹ), распозна́ть (ru) pf (raspoznátʹ), различа́ть (ru) impf (različátʹ), различи́ть (ru) pf (različítʹ)
• Slovak: zbadať, všimnúť si, spozorovať
• Spanish: percibir (es), sensar
• Swedish: urskilja (sv)

to perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry

• Bulgarian: забелязвам (bg) (zabeljazvam)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 察覺／察觉 (caat³ kok³)

• Czech: uvědomit si (cs) pf, uvědomovat si impf, pochopit (cs) pf, chápat (cs) impf
• Finnish: havaita (fi)
• Galician: cousir, decerner
• German: erkennen (de), verstehen (de), herauslesen, wahrnehmen (de)
• Greek: διακρίνω (el) (diakríno)
• Latin: dispicio, dispecto
• Portuguese: discernir (pt)
• Slovak: uvedomiť si, pochopiť
• Spanish: vislumbrar (es), discernir (es), sensar
• Swedish: urskilja (sv)

to distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate

• Bengali: পৃথকীকরণ (bn) (prithkikron)
• Bulgarian: разпознавам (bg) (razpoznavam), различавам (bg) (različavam)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 辨別／辨别 (bin⁶ bit⁶)

• Czech: odlišit pf, rozeznat pf, rozeznávat impf, odlišovat (cs) impf, rozlišovat (cs) impf
• Dutch: onderscheiden (nl)
• Finnish: erottaa (fi)
• Galician: decerner, disterar, acolumbrar, diferenciar (gl), estremar (gl)
• German: unterscheiden (de)
• Greek: διακρίνω (el) (diakríno)
• Korean: 식별하다 (ko) (sikbyeolhada)
• Latin: dispicio, dispecto, internoscō
• Polish: rozróżniać (pl), rozróżnić (pl)
• Portuguese: discernir (pt), distinguir (pt), diferenciar (pt)
• Sanskrit: वेवेक्ति (vevekti)
• Slovak: rozoznať, rozlíšiť
• Spanish: discernir (es), sensar, discerner
• Swedish: skilja (sv)

to perceive differences

• Bulgarian: различавам (bg) (različavam)
• Czech: rozlišit pf, odlišovat (cs) impf, rozlišovat (cs) impf
• German: unterscheiden (de)
• Latin: dispicio, dispecto
• Portuguese: discernir (pt)
• Slovak: odlíšiť, postrehnúť
• Spanish: sensar, discerner
• Swedish: se skillnad på

Anagrams

• Cinders, cinders, rescind