discriminate
English
Etymology
From Latin discriminatus, past participle of discriminare (“to divide, separate, distinguish”), from discrimen (“a space between, division, separation, distinction”), from discerno (“to divide, separate, distinguish, discern”); see discern, discreet, discrete. Compare crime.
Pronunciation
- (verb) IPA(key): /dɪsˈkɹɪmɪneɪt/
Audio (RP) (file)
- (adjective) IPA(key): /dɪsˈkɹɪmɪnət/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Verb
discriminate (third-person singular simple present discriminates, present participle discriminating, simple past and past participle discriminated)
- (intransitive) To make distinctions.
- Since he was color blind he was unable to discriminate between the blue and green bottles.
- To treat or affect differently, depending on differences in traits.
- Low self-esteem doesn't discriminate against anyone.
- (intransitive, construed with against) To make decisions based on prejudice.
- The law prohibits discriminating against people based on their skin color.
- (transitive) To set apart as being different; to mark as different; to separate from another by discerning differences; to distinguish.
- 1670-7, Isaac Barrow, “Sermon XX: Against rash Censuring and Judging”, in The Theological Works, volume 1, published 1818, page 448:
- To discriminate the goats from the sheep.
- 1782–1785, William Cowper, “(please specify the page)”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], OCLC 228757725:
- Still stranger much, that when at length mankind
Had reach'd the sinewy firmness of their youth,
And could discriminate and argue well
On subjects more mysterious
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Usage notes
Due to the strong pejorative connotations of sense of “decide based on prejudice”, care should be taken in using the term in the sense “distinguish, make distinctions”, and this sense is primarily used in formal discourse; synonyms are generally used instead. On the other hand, the adjectives discriminate and indiscriminate are solely used to refer to being distinguished or marked by being different.
Synonyms
- (make distinctions): distinguish, differentiate; see also Thesaurus:tell apart
- (make decisions based on prejudice): disfavor
Antonyms
- (make decisions based on prejudice): favor
Derived terms
- discriminative
- discriminatory
- undiscriminated
Related terms
- price discriminate
Translations
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Adjective
discriminate (comparative more discriminate, superlative most discriminate)
- Having the difference marked; distinguished by certain tokens.
- 1631, Francis [Bacon], “9. Century.”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William Rawley; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], OCLC 1044372886:
- Nevertheless it is certain, that oisters, and cockles, and mussels, which move not, have no discriminate sex
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Translations
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Further reading
- discriminate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- discriminate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
Italian
Verb
discriminate
- inflection of discriminare:
- second-person plural present indicative
- second-person plural imperative
Participle
discriminate f pl
- feminine plural of discriminato
Anagrams
- dimenticarsi
Latin
Verb
discrīmināte
- second-person plural present active imperative of discrīminō