Definition of DISCERN

Other Words from discern

discerner noun

discernible or less commonly discernable \di-ˈsər-nə-bəl,

-ˈzər- \ adjective

discernibly \-blē

\ adverb

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 Kremlin discerns a bit of envy, as well, on the part of the American president. — Washington Post, "How the Kremlin turned the Russian president into a global icon," 12 July 2018 How will schools discern a student’s writing ability now? — Naomi Schaefer Riley, WSJ, "Save the SAT Writing Test," 8 July 2018 Like a host of contemporary playwrights, New Yorker Jen Silverman hasn't fully discerned the difference between creating characters and assembling signifiers. — Justin Hayford, Chicago Reader, "An Iowa housewife and her mismatched Roommate learn to live together and like it," 3 July 2018 By examining data spanning nearly three Martian years (six Earth years), Webster and his colleagues discerned the first repeating pattern in Martian methane. — Author: Sarah Kaplan, Anchorage Daily News, "Newest NASA discoveries could boost search for ancient life on Mars," 8 June 2018 The signing of Salt & Straw underscores the center’s suburban-chic vibe, designed to bring together premium retailers, trendy eateries and modern fitness concepts for the discerning beach city dweller. — Jennifer Van Grove, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Salt & Straw to open second San Diego scoop shop at One Paseo," 3 July 2018 Carpenter is famously one of the most patient hitters in baseball with a discerning eye for the strike zone. — Michael Beller, SI.com, "Matt Carpenter's Hitting Resurgence is Thanks to His Increased Aggressiveness," 2 July 2018 Most will find out in the usual way; after having tiny blobs of tissue slurped up through a needle, smeared and stained on a slide, and put under the discerning eye of a pathologist. — Megan Molteni, WIRED, "With Medicare Support, Genetic Cancer Testing Goes Mainstream," 20 Mar. 2018 According to designer Guinevere Johnson of Homepolish, a discerning taste in materials and art defines Chicagoans' homes. — Devin Alessio, ELLE Decor, "5 Different Loft Design Styles Across The Country," 5 Aug. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'discern.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.