discern

verb

dis·​cern di-ˈsərn  -ˈzərn 

discerned; discerning; discerns

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

Synonyms

• behold
• catch
• descry
• distinguish
• espy
• eye
• look (at)
• note
• notice
• observe
• perceive
• regard
• remark
• see
• sight
• spot
• spy
• view
• witness

Examples of discern in a Sentence

A careful analysis of the "Nutrition Facts" panels might provide some guidance, but you would have to do a lot of math before you could discern the best choice. —David L. Katz, O, The Oprah Magazine, August 2008

The ability to discern value at a glimpse, to sift the useful out of the rejected with as little expenditure of energy as possible, is the great talent of the scavenger. —Matthew Power, Harper's, December 2006

Astronomers are delighted to have found 19 galaxies that appear to be bent out of shape. The distorted images are cosmic mirages, arcs or rings of light created when the gravity of a massive foreground object bends and magnifies the light from a galaxy lying behind it. Albert Einstein predicted the effect … in 1936, but telescopes at the time weren't powerful enough to discern it. —R. Cowen, Science News, 21 Jan. 2006

Despite the layers of ironic hesitation, the reader soon discerns that the emotions informing the book are raw and, more importantly, authentic. —Publishers Weekly, 13 Dec. 1999

The reasons behind this sudden change are difficult to discern.

barely able to discern the garden gate through the mist

Recent Examples on the Web

The first steps in discerning whether a relationship is possible with someone usually requires, at the very least, a basic sense of reciprocity and effort. —Mark Travers, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024

To streamline their challenge process, the Warriors want their players to be more discerning on whether to signal to the bench — by circling their index finger — for a review after a whistle. —Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 1 Nov. 2024

There is also the difficulty of discerning actual and consequential incidents at the polls. —Ted Johnson, Deadline, 31 Oct. 2024

Before the update, website owners could restrict Google from crawling the results of internal searches, but crawlers at the time were now automatically able to discern which pages were deemed important to index. —Elaine Mallon, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 27 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English discernen "to discriminate, perceive rationally, see," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French discerner, borrowed from Latin discernere "to separate, divide off, distinguish," from dis- dis- + cernere "to sift, discern, decide, determine" — more at certain entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Kids Definition

discern

verb

dis·​cern dis-ˈərn  diz- 

1

: to detect with the eyes : distinguish

discern an airplane in the clouds

2

: to come to know, recognize, or understand

discern the basic issue

discern right from wrong

discernible

-ˈər-nə-bəl

adjective

discernibly

-blē 

adverb