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
Verb
  • That was John Watson, who won the 1983 United States Grand Prix West (named to differentiate between the multiple American races back then) from 22nd on the grid for McLaren.
    Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • So, the research team, with help from Song Taegeun, a professor at the Kongju National University and used machine learning to differentiate oscillation components, even when beating patterns changed with the gate voltage.
    Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • If leaders distinguish between thoughtful and careless risks, people can move boldly without lowering the bar.
    Aleksandr Yampolskiy, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Learning to distinguish genuine friendship from fascination with his position is something Prince William has had to navigate his entire life.
    Janelle Ash , Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2026
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

Cite this Entry

“Secern.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/secern. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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