secern

verb

si-ˈsərn How to pronounce secern (audio)
Definition of secernnext
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
  1. differentiate
  2. distinguish
Verb
  • Szwast said the investments will help UPS differentiate its end-to-end logistics offerings, ensuring the logistics company can equip businesses from the first step to the last step of the shipping process.
    — Laya Neelakandan, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Furthermore, its interior will have become differentiated, with the heavier elements sinking to the core.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of differentiate
Verb
  • The researchers suspect that others were created by AI that either hallucinated or, just like the AI agents browsing their file, couldn’t distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate instructions.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The debate centers on what set of images and chemical measurements will best help distinguish how the polygons formed.
    — Ashwin R. Vasavada, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 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

“Secern.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secern. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gumption

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

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

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All