discern
/di'sə:n/
Definition
- Verb:
- To perceive, recognize, or detect something with the senses or the mind: To see, hear, or understand something that is not immediately obvious or is somewhat hidden.
- To distinguish or differentiate between things: To recognize or identify as separate and distinct.
Examples of Usage
- Verb:
- With her keen eyesight, she could discern a ship on the distant horizon.
- It is difficult to discern his true intentions from his vague statements.
- A good wine taster can discern subtle differences between two similar vintages.
Advanced Usage
- "to discern between": to perceive or recognize the difference separating two or more things.
- The jury must discern between fact and opinion in the witness's testimony.
- "to discern from": to recognize or identify something by distinguishing it from something else.
- The expert could discern the original painting from the forgery.
Variants and Related Words
- Discernible (adj): Able to be seen, heard, or perceived.
- There was a discernible note of anxiety in her voice.
- Discerning (adj): Having or showing good judgment, especially in matters of taste or quality.
- The restaurant appeals to a discerning clientele.
- Discernment (n): The ability to judge well or to perceive things clearly.
- She showed great discernment in her choice of investments.
Synonyms
- Perceive: To become aware or conscious of something.
- Detect: To discover or identify the presence of something.
- Distinguish: To recognize or treat as different.
- Discriminate: To recognize a distinction, especially carefully or precisely.
Related Phrases
- "Able to discern": Having the capacity to perceive or recognize.
- Only the most experienced pilots are able to discern the landmarks in such dense fog.
- "Hard/Easy to discern": Difficult or simple to perceive.
- The path was hard to discern in the failing light.
Related Idioms
- Discern the truth: To find out or understand what is real and accurate.
- After hours of questioning, the detective began to discern the truth.
- Discern a pattern: To recognize a regular and intelligible form or sequence in apparent random information.
- By analyzing the data, the researcher could discern a pattern.
Verb
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detect with the senses
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The fleeing convicts were picked out of the darkness by the watchful prison guards
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I can't make out the faces in this photograph
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