1
as in to notice
to make note of (something) through the use of one's eyes
barely able to discern the garden gate through the mist
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to differentiate
to understand or point out the difference in
too young to discern between right and wrong
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to understand
to have a clear idea of
we're still trying to discern the meaning of that cryptic remark
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of discern
But that still leaves the cardinals with the difficult task of discerning God's will and the true state of the Church.
—
Joel Thayer, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 May 2025
Later in life — the details of when are difficult to discern — the government of Burkina Faso assigned him an entirely new birthdate: Dec. 31, 1945.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 6 May 2025
For details about how to discern and handle AI hallucinations, see the link here.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025
Studio audiences aren’t usually the most comically discerning.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for discern
Joel Thayer, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 May 2025
Later in life — the details of when are difficult to discern — the government of Burkina Faso assigned him an entirely new birthdate: Dec. 31, 1945.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 6 May 2025
For details about how to discern and handle AI hallucinations, see the link here.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025
Studio audiences aren’t usually the most comically discerning.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for discern
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discern
Verb
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Dempsey-Beggs’ boss noticed her nervousness and pulled her aside, asking what the alarm was.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
People.com,
18 May 2025
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He's also noticed that workers often shovel coal in bouts, working hard in teams of two or three, and then all taking breaks together.—
Jonathan Lambert,
NPR,
18 May 2025
Verb
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The company doesn’t differentiate between its own shopping service and those of rivals, a spokesperson added, noting that more than 1,550 comparison shopping sites in Europe currently use its display — up from just seven in 2017.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
13 May 2025
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Analyze successful client relationships, uncover magnetic elements often overlooked by business owners, refine communication styles, and highlight differentiating factors from competitors.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
13 May 2025
Verb
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To understand what’s at stake amid the NNSA’s workforce woes, USA TODAY interviewed current and former agency officials and reviewed decades of watchdog reports, safety records and other official documents.—
Davis Winkie,
USA Today,
19 May 2025
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The realtor also pulled permits to help determine a timeline of events to understand when some of the damage occurred.—
Meredith Wilshere,
People.com,
19 May 2025
Verb
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Southern Baptist churches lost more than a quarter-million members nationwide in 2024, the 18th straight year of decline, but saw baptism and attendance numbers rise.—
Frank E. Lockwood,
Arkansas Online,
10 May 2025
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Back to battle once again for their lives and a giant cash prize, the wordless preview sees contestants facing a series of high-stakes situations, involving guns, fists and an ominous giant gumball machine.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
10 May 2025
Verb
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The institutional medical setting becomes the background for a tale that doesn’t finely distinguish between memory and imagination, one realm bleeding freely into the next.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
9 May 2025
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During a pre-market analyst call, WBD CEO David Zaslav underscored that Max’s focus appears to be distinguishing itself from the big, broad offering the company had initially pitched.—
Alex Weprin,
HollywoodReporter,
8 May 2025
Verb
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On May 9, a swarm of what are believed to be Africanized honey bees, also known as killer bees, attacked and killed three horses in Comanche, Texas, just about 50 miles southeast of Eastland.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
20 May 2025
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Barnett is best known for his participation in the first season of Love Island USA, which premiered in 2019.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
20 May 2025
Verb
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Among the crowd at the Peacock that day, and easy to spot in his Leeds shirt and yellow bucket hat, was NBA power forward Larry Nance Jr.—
Felipe Cardenas,
New York Times,
15 May 2025
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Noble said drivers need to share the road and be on the lookout for motorcycles that can be tougher to spot.—
Sean Krofssik,
Hartford Courant,
15 May 2025
Verb
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Instead of administrators spending countless hours deciphering page after page of information and increasing risk of errors being made, AI agents are powering document capture for a better, more efficient way to work.—
Navaneeth Nair,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
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In early May, the Vesuvius Challenge announced that contestants Marcel Roth and Micha Nowak, computer scientists at Germany’s University of Würzburg, would receive $60,000 for deciphering the title.—
Ellen Wexler,
Smithsonian Magazine,
16 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Discern.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discern. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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