Adjacent Words

Discern definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DISCERN, v.t. s as z. [L., to separate or distinguish, Gr.]
1. To separate by the eye, or by the understanding. Hence,
2. To distinguish; to see the difference between two or more things; to discriminate; as, to discern the blossom-buds from the leaf-buds of plants.
Discern thou what is thine--Genesis 31.
3. To make the difference.
For nothing else discerns the virtue or the vice.
4. To discover; to see; to distinguish by the eye.
I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding. Proverbs 7.
5. To discover by the intellect; to distinguish; hence, to have knowledge of; to judge.
So is my lord the king to discern good and bad. 1 Samuel 14.
A wise mans heart discerneth time and judgment. Ecclesiastes 8.
DISCERN, v.i.
1. To see or understand the difference; to make distinction; as, to discern between good and evil, truth and falsehood.
2. To have judicial cognizance.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: detect with the senses; "The fleeing convicts were picked out of the darkness by the watchful prison guards"; "I can't make out the faces in this photograph" [syn: spot, recognize, recognise, distinguish, discern, pick out, make out, tell apart]

Merriam Webster's

verb Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French discerner, from Latin discernere to separate, distinguish between, from dis- apart + cernere to sift — more at dis-, certain Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to detect with the eyes <discerned a figure approaching through the fog> b. to detect with senses other than vision <discerned a strange odor> 2. to recognize or identify as separate and distinct ; discriminate <discern right from wrong> 3. to come to know or recognize mentally <unable to discern his motives> intransitive verb to see or understand the difference • discerner noun • discernible also discernable adjective • discernibly adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 perceive clearly with the mind or the senses. 2 make out by thought or by gazing, listening, etc. Derivatives: discerner n. discernible adj. discernibly adv. Etymology: ME f. OF discerner f. L (as DIS-, cernere cret- separate)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Discern Dis*cern", v. i. 1. To see or understand the difference; to make distinction; as, to discern between good and evil, truth and falsehood. More than sixscore thousand that cannot discern between their right hand their left. --Jonah iv. 11. 2. To make cognizance. [Obs.] --Bacon.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Discern Dis*cern", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Discerned; p. pr. & vb. n. Discerning.] [F. discerner, L. discernere, discretum; dis- + cernere to separate, distinguish. See Certain, and cf. Discreet.] 1. To see and identify by noting a difference or differences; to note the distinctive character of; to discriminate; to distinguish. To discern such buds as are fit to produce blossoms. --Boyle. A counterfeit stone which thine eye can not discern from a right stone. --Robynson (More's Utopia). 2. To see by the eye or by the understanding; to perceive and recognize; as, to discern a difference. And [I] beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding. --Prov. vii. 7. Our unassisted sight . . . is not acute enough to discern the minute texture of visible objects. --Beattie. I wake, and I discern the truth. --Tennyson. Syn: To perceive; distinguish; discover; penetrate; discriminate; espy; descry; detect. See Perceive.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(discerns, discerning, discerned) 1. If you can discern something, you are aware of it and know what it is. (FORMAL) You need a long series of data to be able to discern such a trend... It was hard to discern why this was happening. VERB: V n, V wh 2. If you can discern something, you can just see it, but not clearly. (FORMAL) Below the bridge we could just discern a narrow, weedy ditch. VERB: V n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

di-zurn': Five Hebrew words are thus translated: bin, yadha`, nakhar, ra'ah and shama`. It may simply mean "observe" (bin), "I discerned among the youths" (Pr 7:7); or discriminating knowlege, "A wise man's heart discerneth time and judgment" (Ec 8:5, yadha`); "He discerned him not, because his hands," etc. (Ge 27:23, nakhar); "Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked" (Mal 3:18, ra'ah); "So is my lord the king to discern good," etc. (2Sa 14:17, shama`). In the New Testament the words anakrino, diakrino and dokimazo are thus translated, expressing close and distinct acquaintance with or a critical knowledge of things. Used in 1Co 2:14 the King James Version of "the things of the spirit of God"; in 1Co 11:29 of "the (Lord's) body" in the sacrament; in Mt 16:3 of "the face of the heaven"; in Heb 5:14 of a clear knowledge of good and evil as the prerogative of a full-grown man. See also next article.

Henry E. Dosker

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Discriminate, distinguish, note the distinctions of. 2. Perceive, see, discover, descry, behold, espy. II. v. n. Discriminate, judge, make distinction.

Moby Thesaurus

anticipate, appreciate, apprehend, ascertain, be acquainted with, be apprised of, be aware of, be cognizant of, be conscious of, be conversant with, be informed, behold, catch sight of, clap eyes on, cognize, come alive, comprehend, conceive, conceptualize, descry, detect, difference, differentiate, discover, discriminate, distinguish, divine, espy, extricate, fathom, foresee, glimpse, grasp, have, have in sight, have information about, have knowledge of, identify, ken, know, lay eyes on, look on, look upon, make out, note, notice, observe, penetrate, perceive, pick out, pick up, pierce, plumb, possess, prehend, realize, recognize, remark, savvy, see, see daylight, see into, see the light, see through, seize, sense, separate, sever, sight, spot, spy, take in, twig, understand, view, witness, wot, wot of