SECERN Synonyms: 23 Similar and Opposite Words

secern

verb

si-ˈsərn

Definition of secern

as in to differentiate

to understand or point out the difference in those philistines who seemingly cannot secern artistic depiction of the nude from blatant pornography

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for secern

Verb

Every hour spent maintaining infrastructure that isn’t differentiating is an hour not spent on the work that actually moves the business forward.

— Nick Chandi, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026
So, for example, 4 NAZA would mean four other people killed — women, children, elderly, the term doesn’t differentiate.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of differentiate

Verb

The following books refuse to treat breakups as a singular ending or distinguish the breakup from the inevitable awakening.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
The new analysis used the MagLab’s 21-tesla Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer, which can distinguish an enormous number of compounds within extremely complex mixtures.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of distinguish

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

seawalls

secern

secerned

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Secern.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secern. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of secern

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

elegiac

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Popular in Wordplay

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18

Popular

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Games & Quizzes