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: /dɪˈsɜː(ɹ)n/, X-SAMPA: /dI"s3:n/
• (US) IPA: /dɪˈsɝn/, X-SAMPA: /dI"s3`n/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

(older pronunciation)

• (UK) IPA: /dɪˈzɜːn/, X-SAMPA: /dI"z3:n/
• (US) IPA: /dɪˈzɝn/, X-SAMPA: /dI"z3`n/

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, chapter 1, The Survivors of the Chancellor^[1]:

     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]:

     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.
   • 1651, Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan^[3]:

     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.

   He was too young to discern right from wrong.

4. (intransitive) To perceive differences.

Derived terms

• discernible
• discernment
• indiscernible

Translations

to detect with the senses, especially with the eyes

• Bulgarian: съзирам (bg) (sǎziram)
• Finnish: huomata, havaita; (with eyes) nähdä
• German: erkennen (de), wahrnehmen (de)
• Italian: percepire (it)
• Korean: 인지하다 (ko) (injihada)

• Polish: dostrzec (pl), dostrzegać (pl), zauważyć (pl), zauważać (pl)
• Romanian: discerne (ro), percepe (ro)
• Slovak: zbadať (sk), všimnúť si (sk), spozorovať (sk)
• Spanish: percibir (es)
• Swedish: urskilja (sv)

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

• Bulgarian: забелязвам (bg) (zabeljazvam)
• Finnish: havaita (fi)
• Greek: διακρίνω (el) (diakríno)

• Slovak: uvedomiť si (sk), pochopiť (sk)
• Spanish: vislumbrar (es), discernir (es)

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

• Bulgarian: разпознавам (bg) (razpoznavam), различавам (bg) (različavam)
• Finnish: erottaa (fi)
• Greek: διακρίνω (el) (diakríno)
• Korean: 식별하다 (ko) (sigbyeolhada)

• Polish: rozróżniać (pl), rozróżnić (pl)
• Slovak: rozoznať (sk), rozlíšiť (sk)
• Spanish: discernir (es)
• Swedish: skilja (sv)

to perceive differences

• Bulgarian: различавам (bg) (različavam)
• Slovak: odlíšiť (sk), postrehnúť (sk)

• Swedish: se skillnad på (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: discernir

Anagrams

• cinders
• rescind