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discerned; discerning; discerns
: to see or understand the difference
discerner
noun
Synonyms
Example Sentences
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
See More
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
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
But the athletes who are sometimes tagged in these tweets — who see a familiar logo, and sometime even its team’s account tagged in the body of the post — may not be able to discern the differences between a spam account and a legitimate one.
—Dallas News, 24 Nov. 2022
Using Hélène’s phone, Eve is able to discern where the Twelve is meeting — on a boat with a wedding as cover.
—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2022
In regards to two technical details, 60,000 SNPs is more than enough to discern these three ancestral elements.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 16 Apr. 2012
The influx since the start of the Ukraine war has simply supplemented a Russian presence that was already easy to discern.
—Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 22 Dec. 2022
Usually, political prognosticators have been able to discern the contents of the outstanding votes by tracking trends.
—Richard Ruelas, The Arizona Republic, 10 Nov. 2022
By zooming in close to these details, paleontologists were able to discern that multituberculates raised their young more like most modern mammals than marsupials or egg-layers like the platypus, according to a recent American Naturalist study.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Oct. 2022
But online exclusion is harder to discern, call out and punish, and the targets often feel ashamed about it, according to experts.
—Julie Jargon, WSJ, 19 Nov. 2022
Prior to the invention of the attosecond laser, physicists had no stopwatch precise enough to discern the difference, so many had assumed that the neon atom ejected the electron instantaneously, regardless of the orbital.
—WIRED, 18 Nov. 2022
See More
Dallas News, 24 Nov. 2022
Using Hélène’s phone, Eve is able to discern where the Twelve is meeting — on a boat with a wedding as cover.
—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2022
In regards to two technical details, 60,000 SNPs is more than enough to discern these three ancestral elements.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 16 Apr. 2012
The influx since the start of the Ukraine war has simply supplemented a Russian presence that was already easy to discern.
—Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 22 Dec. 2022
Usually, political prognosticators have been able to discern the contents of the outstanding votes by tracking trends.
—Richard Ruelas, The Arizona Republic, 10 Nov. 2022
By zooming in close to these details, paleontologists were able to discern that multituberculates raised their young more like most modern mammals than marsupials or egg-layers like the platypus, according to a recent American Naturalist study.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Oct. 2022
But online exclusion is harder to discern, call out and punish, and the targets often feel ashamed about it, according to experts.
—Julie Jargon, WSJ, 19 Nov. 2022
Prior to the invention of the attosecond laser, physicists had no stopwatch precise enough to discern the difference, so many had assumed that the neon atom ejected the electron instantaneously, regardless of the orbital.
—WIRED, 18 Nov. 2022
See More
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.
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
Time Traveler
The first known use of discern was
in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near discern
Cite this Entry
“Discern.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discern. Accessed 27 Jan. 2023.
Kids Definition
discernible
adjective
-ˈər-nə-bəl
More from Merriam-Webster on discern
Nglish: Translation of discern for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of discern for Arabic Speakers
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