Meanings
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of discern
comparative more discerning · superlative most discerning
- Of keen insight or selective judgement; perceptive.
The discerning customer will appreciate our new range of quality clothing.
1 more example
Such practices as Theſe, too groſs to lye / Long unobſerv'd by each diſcerning Eye, / The more judicious Iſraelites Unſpell'd, / Though ſtill the Charm the giddy Rabble held, […]
1682, [Nahum Tate; John Dryden], The Second Part of Absalom and Achitophel. A Poem, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 5
plural discernings
- discernment
Either his notion weakens, his discernings / Are lethargied
c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv], line 224
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivehaving or revealing keen insight and good judgment
adjectivequick to understand
adjectiveable to make or detect effects of great subtlety; sensitive
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Bulgarian прозорлив, проницателен
- прозорлив (prozorliv)of keen insight
- проницателен (pronicatelen)of keen insight
Finnish arvostelukykyinen
- arvostelukykyinenof keen insight
German aufgeweckt, scharfsichtig
- aufgewecktof keen insight
- scharfsichtigof keen insight
- wahrnehmendof keen insight
- erkennendof keen insight
- unterscheidendof keen insight
- urteilsfähigof keen insight
- anspruchsvollof keen insight
- kennerhaftof keen insight
Hungarian igényes
- igényesof keen insight
Latin sapiens
- sapiensof keen insight
Portuguese sagaz, perspicaz
- sagazof keen insight
- perspicazof keen insight
- astutoof keen insight
Spanish discernidor, discerniente
- discernidorof keen insight
- discernienteof keen insight
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
discerning. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/discerning
“discerning.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/discerning. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “discerning,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/discerning.
Source: discerning on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.