verb
discriminate
dih-SKRIHM-ih-nayt
verb
1
To treat a person or group unfairly because of a characteristic such as race, age, or gender.
"It is illegal to discriminate against employees on the basis of age."
"The policy was accused of discriminating against smaller businesses."
2
To recognize a difference between things.
"A skilled taster can discriminate between subtly different wines."
How to Use Discriminate
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo treat people unfairly based on a trait, or (in a more neutral, older sense) to tell things apart.
When to use it
The unfair-treatment sense is by far the most common in everyday modern use.
Common pairings
discriminate against
discriminate on the basis of
Word Forms
more discriminate comparative, discriminated past tense, discriminates singular, most discriminate superlative
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “discriminate”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
It is illegal to _____ against employees on the basis of age.
Etymology
From Latin discriminare, "to divide, distinguish," from discrimen, "a dividing line" — from discernere, "to separate, discern."