discern

Meaning

  1. (transitive) To detect with the senses, especially with the eyes.
  2. (transitive) To perceive, recognize, or comprehend with the mind; to descry.
  3. (transitive) To distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate or discriminate.
  4. (intransitive) To perceive differences.

Synonyms

distinguish
C2
perceive
C2
discriminate
25k
notice
A2
detect
C1
descry
recognize
B1
observe
B2
discover
B2
spot
A2
see
A1
👀
understand
A1
find
A1
🔍
recognise
B2
make out
espy
differentiate
25k
tell apart
pick out
comprehend
C2
behold
C1
scent out
determine
B2
realize
A2
get wind of
sense
A2
figure
A2
decipher
C2
feel
A1
figure out
falseness
conjecture
21k

captivate

examine
C1
estimate
C1
confiscate
C2
mind
A1
mark
A2
encounter
C1
conclude
C2
ascertain
21k
make
A1
listen
A1
know
A1
interpret
C2
infer
31k
identify
B2
meditate
C2
hit
A1
clutch
C2
Translations

erkennen
discerner
discernir
unterscheiden
discernir
waarnemen

διακρίνω

onderscheiden
wahrnehmen
riconoscere
bemerken
percevoir
distinguir
percibir
distinguer
Frequency

28k
Pronounced as (IPA)
/dɪˈsɜːn/
Etymology

Inherited from Middle English
discernen
In summary

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

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English