Adjacent Words

Discrimination definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DISCRIMINATION, n.
1. The act of distinguishing; the act of making or observing a difference; distinction; as the discrimination between right and wrong.
2. The state of being distinguished.
3. Mark of distinction.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice [syn: discrimination, favoritism, favouritism]
2: the cognitive process whereby two or more stimuli are distinguished [syn: discrimination, secernment]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1648 1. a. the act of discriminating b. the process by which two stimuli differing in some aspect are responded to differently 2. the quality or power of finely distinguishing 3. a. the act, practice, or an instance of discriminating categorically rather than individually b. prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment <racial discrimination> Synonyms: see discernment • discriminational adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 unfavourable treatment based on prejudice, esp. regarding race, colour, or sex. 2 good taste or judgement in artistic matters etc. 3 the power of discriminating or observing differences. 4 a distinction made with the mind or in action.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Discrimination Dis*crim`i*na"tion, n. [L. discriminatio the contrasting of opposite thoughts.] 1. The act of discriminating, distinguishing, or noting and marking differences. To make an anxious discrimination between the miracle absolute and providential. --Trench. 2. The state of being discriminated, distinguished, or set apart. --Sir J. Reynolds. 3. (Railroads) The arbitrary imposition of unequal tariffs for substantially the same service. A difference in rates, not based upon any corresponding difference in cost, constitutes a case of discrimination. --A. T. Hadley. 4. The quality of being discriminating; faculty of nicely distinguishing; acute discernment; as, to show great discrimination in the choice of means. 5. That which discriminates; mark of distinction. Syn: Discernment; penetration; clearness; acuteness; judgment; distinction. See Discernment.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Discrimination is the practice of treating one person or group of people less fairly or less well than other people or groups. She is exempt from sex discrimination laws. ...discrimination against immigrants. N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp 2. Discrimination is knowing what is good or of high quality. They cooked without skill and ate without discrimination. 3. Discrimination is the ability to recognize and understand the differences between two things. ...colour discrimination. N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Distinction, difference. 2. Discernment, penetration, acuteness, judgment, sagacity, insight.

Moby Thesaurus

Atticism, Jim Crow, Jim Crow law, acquired taste, acumen, adjudgment, adjudication, aestheticism, alteration, analysis, anatomization, anti-Semitism, apartheid, appreciation of excellence, appropriateness, arbitrament, arbitration, astuteness, atomization, bias, bigotry, black power, black supremacy, censoriousness, change, chasteness, chastity, chauvinism, choice, choiceness, choosiness, circumspection, circumspectness, civilized taste, civilizedness, clarity, class consciousness, class distinction, class hatred, class prejudice, class war, classicalism, classicism, clearness, color bar, color line, comeliness, connoisseurship, conscientiousness, consideration, cool judgment, correctness, criticalness, cultivated taste, cultivation, culture, daintiness, deeming, delicacy, demarcation, desynonymization, differencing, differentiation, dignity, directness, discernment, discreetness, discretion, discriminatingness, discriminativeness, disequalization, disjunction, distinction, distinguishment, diversification, division, ease, eclecticism, elegance, elegancy, excellence, fascism, fastidiousness, favoritism, felicitousness, felicity, finesse, finish, fittingness, flow, flowing periods, fluency, good judgment, good taste, grace, gracefulness, gracility, graciosity, graciousness, inclination, individualization, individuation, inequality, inequity, insight, interest, intolerance, involvement, judgement, judging, judgment, judicature, judiciousness, keenness, know-nothingism, leaning, limpidity, lucidity, male chauvinist, meticulousness, minority prejudice, modification, naturalness, neatness, nepotism, niceness, nicety, one-sidedness, parti pris, partiality, particularity, particularization, particularness, partisanism, partisanship, pellucidity, penetration, perception, perceptiveness, percipience, perfectionism, personalization, perspicacity, perspicuity, picking and choosing, plainness, policy, polish, polity, preciseness, precisianism, precision, preference, preferential treatment, prejudice, priggishness, propriety, providence, prudence, prudentialism, prudishness, punctilio, punctiliousness, purism, puritanism, purity, quality, race hatred, race prejudice, race snobbery, racial discrimination, racialism, racism, red-baiting, refinement, reflection, reflectiveness, restraint, scrupulosity, scrupulousness, seemliness, segregation, selectiveness, selectivity, sense, sensitivity, separation, severalization, severance, sex discrimination, sexism, shrewdness, simplicity, smoothness, social barrier, social discrimination, sophistication, sound judgment, soundness of judgment, specialization, straightforwardness, strictness, subtlety, superpatriotism, taste, tastefulness, terseness, thoughtfulness, ultranationalism, unaffectedness, undetachment, undispassionateness, unfairness, unneutrality, variation, weighing, white power, white supremacy, wit, xenophobia