SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

discriminator

play

noun dis·crim·i·na·tor \ dis-ˈkri-mə-ˌnā-tər \

Definition of discriminator

:one that discriminates; especially :a circuit that can be adjusted to accept or reject signals of different characteristics (such as amplitude or frequency)

Recent Examples of discriminator from the Web

As a rule, people are terrible discriminators of what care is needed and what’s not.

— aaron e. carroll and austin frakt, New York Times, "Don’t Assume That Private Insurance Is Better Than Medicaid," 12 July 2017
One is a generator that concocts images, the other a discriminator that tries to spot any flaws that would give away the manipulation, forcing the generator to get better.

— science news staff, Science | AAAS, "AI is changing how we do science. Get a glimpse," 5 July 2017

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

First Known Use of discriminator

1828

Learn More about discriminator

See words that rhyme with discriminator

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up discriminator? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

WORD OF THE DAY

yeasty

play

of yeast or being unsettled or frivolous

BROWSE DICTIONARY

discrimination time

discriminative

discriminator

discriminatory

discrown

Test Your Vocabulary

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

Which of the following is a new sense of the word bunny?

Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ

Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

alt-59c4207ecf106

Let's Talk 'Tea'

Spill it, sip it: just make it hot.

8 Words and Phrases from Boxing and Wrestling

Common terms that come from boxing and wrestling

alt-59c2960017c94

The Ambiguity of Pushing 'Up' and 'Back'

When you push a meeting, where does it go?

Silent Letters

When each letter can be seen but not heard

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066

Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless

Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals

Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

young-plant-shoots

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

You're going to have to memorize the dictionary again.

Take the quiz

stylized-drawing-of-woman-pole-vaulting-across-gap-to-get-trophy

Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

No tricks, just difficult words.

Take the quiz

Name That Thing

Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz

Word Winder's CrossWinder

Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game