- parts of speech:
- intransitive verb, transitive verb, adjective
- features:
- Word Combinations (verb), Word History
| part of speech: |
intransitive verb |
| pronunciation: |
dih
skrI
mih
neIt
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| inflections: |
discriminates, discriminating, discriminated |
| definition 1: |
to judge or act toward someone on a categorical rather than individual basis (usu. fol. by "against)".
Some employers discriminate against older applicants.- similar words:
- disdain, disfranchise, prejudge
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| definition 2: |
to make accurate distinctions.
Some people cannot discriminate between butter and margarine.- synonyms:
- differentiate, distinguish
- similar words:
- discern
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| related words: |
refine |
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| part of speech: |
transitive verb |
| definition: |
to perceive differences or distinctions between.
He could not discriminate the styles of the two poets.- synonyms:
- differentiate, discern, distinguish
- antonyms:
- confound
- similar words:
- contrast, divide, separate
|
| related words: |
distinguish, identify, pick out, tell |
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| part of speech: |
adjective |
| pronunciation: |
dih
skrIm
niht
|
| definition: |
marked by or making fine distinctions.
This was a discriminate decision.Our products appeal to people with discriminate taste.- synonyms:
- discerning
- antonyms:
- indiscriminate, undiscriminating
- similar words:
- perceptive
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| derivations: |
discriminated (adj.), discriminately (adv.), discriminator (n.) |
Discriminate comes from a Latin word that means "to divide, separate, or distinquish." It was first used for the separation of people of different colors or races in the mid-1800s.