Meanings
verbdiscern (third-person singular simple present discerns, present participle discerning, simple past and past participle discerned)
present singular third person discerns · participle present discerning · participle past discerned · past discerned
- transitiveTo detect with the senses, especially with the eyes.
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.
1875, Jules Verne you are no HELP!, chapter 1, in The Survivors of the Chancellor, archived from the original on 12 Apr 2012 - transitiveTo perceive, recognize, or comprehend with the mind; to descry.
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.
1842, Charles Dickens, American Notes for General Circulation, archived from the original on 19 May 20111 more example
General reading readiness is assessed by tests and is also estimated by teachers who are often skillful at discerning just when a pupil is ready to learn to read. The important thing to remember is that jumping the gun is usually self-defeating.
1972, Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 24Synonyms: ken
- transitiveTo distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate or discriminate.
He was too young to discern right from wrong.
1 more example
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.
1651, Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, archived from the original on 07 Jun 2011Synonyms: discriminate
- intransitiveTo perceive differences.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo perceive, recognize, or comprehend with the mind; to descry.
Similar
verbTo distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate or discriminate.
Similar
Similar
More synonyms by meaning
verbdetect with the senses
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latindiscernere“to separate, divide, distinguish, discern”
- Old Frenchdiscerner
- Middle Englishdiscernen
- Englishdiscern
From Middle English discernen, from Old French discerner, from Latin discernere (“to separate, divide, distinguish, discern”), from dis- (“apart”) + cernere (“to distinguish”); see certain.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bengali পৃথকীকরণ
- পৃথকীকরণ (prithkikron)to distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
Bulgarian съзирам, забелязвам
- съзирам (săziram)to detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- забелязвам (zabeljazvam)to perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- разпознавам (razpoznavam)to distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- различавам (različavam)to distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- различавам (različavam)to perceive differences
Chinese Cantonese 察覺 /察觉, 辨別 /辨别
- 察覺 /察觉 (caat³ kok³)to perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- 辨別 /辨别to distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
Czech všimnout si, všímat si
- všimnout sito detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- všímat sito detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- vnímatto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- zpozorovatto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- zaznamenatto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- uvědomit sito perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- uvědomovat sito perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- pochopitto perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- chápatto perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- odlišitto distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- rozeznatto distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- rozeznávatto distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
Dutch onderscheiden
- onderscheidento distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
Finnish huomata, havaita
- huomatato detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- havaitato detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- nähdäto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- havaitato perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- erottaato distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
French discerner
- discernerto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
German erkennen, wahrnehmen
- erkennento detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- wahrnehmento detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- bemerkento detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- feststellento detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- merkento detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- mitbekommento detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- erkennento perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- verstehento perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- herauslesento perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- wahrnehmento perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- unterscheidento distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- den Unterschied erkennen zwischento distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
Greek διακρίνω, διακρίνω
- διακρίνω (diakríno)to perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- διακρίνω (diakríno)to distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
Italian percepire
- percepireto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
Korean 인지하다, 식별하다
- 인지하다 (injihada)to detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- 식별하다 (sikbyeolhada)to distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
Latin dispicio, dispecto
- dispicioto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- dispectoto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- prospicioto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- dispicioto perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- dispectoto perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- dispicioto distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- dispectoto distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- internoscōto distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- dispicioto perceive differences
- dispectoto perceive differences
Polish dostrzec, dostrzegać
- dostrzecto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- dostrzegaćto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- zauważyćto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- zauważaćto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- rozróżniaćto distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- rozróżnićto distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
Portuguese perceber, discernir
- perceberto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- discernirto perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- discernirto distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- distinguirto distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- diferenciarto distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- discernirto perceive differences
Romanian discerne, percepe
- discerneto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- percepeto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
Russian распознава́ть, распозна́ть
- распознава́ть (raspoznavátʹ)to detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- распозна́ть (raspoznátʹ)to detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- различа́ть (različátʹ)to detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- различи́ть (različítʹ)to detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
Slovak zbadať, všimnúť si
- zbadaťto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- všimnúť sito detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- spozorovaťto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- uvedomiť sito perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- pochopiťto perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- rozoznaťto distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- rozlíšiťto distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- odlíšiťto perceive differences
- postrehnúťto perceive differences
Spanish discernir, discerner
- discernirto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- discernerto detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- vislumbrarto perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- discernirto perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- discernerto perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- discernirto distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- discernerto distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- discernerto perceive differences
- discernirto perceive differences
Swedish urskilja, urskilja
- urskiljato detect with the senses, especially with the eyes
- urskiljato perceive, recognize or comprehend with the mind; to descry
- skiljato distinguish something as being different from something else; to differentiate
- se skillnad påto perceive differences
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with discern
returnlearnconcernearnburnsternkernfernurnBernadjournchurnternernnocturneyearnAuvergneupturnpernderngernhernasternspurn
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
discern. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/discern
MLA
“discern.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/discern. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “discern,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/discern.
Source: discern on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.