discern

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /dɪˈsɝn/ UK /dɪˈsɜːn/ See IPA manual

Homophones

decern /dɪˈsɝn/

Meanings

1

verb
to perceive or recognize something, often with difficulty

In the fog she could barely discern the outline of the shore.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to perceive or recognize... perceive detect distinguish discriminate recognize descry apprehend

Opposites

overlook miss confuse

Word family

Forms discerningundiscerning

Derived forms discernment discerniblediscerning

Related forms discrete discreet discriminate certain concern

Simplified etymology

Discern entered English in the late Middle English period and ultimately derives from Latin cernere, “to judge,” the same Latin verb underlying crime and also found in concern and recriminate.

Etymology

From Old French discerner, from Latin discernere ('to separate, distinguish'), from dis- ('apart') plus cernere ('to sift, separate, perceive').

discernere Latin cernere Latin *krey- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# discern

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /dɪˈsɝn/
**IPA (UK):** /dɪˈsɜːn/

## Meanings
1. to perceive or recognize something, often with difficulty

## Examples
- In the fog she could barely discern the outline of the shore.

## Synonyms
- perceive
- detect
- distinguish
- discriminate
- recognize
- descry
- apprehend

## Antonyms
- overlook
- miss
- confuse

## Derived Forms
- discernment
- discernible
- discerning

## Related Forms
- discrete
- discreet
- discriminate
- certain
- concern

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: discernere
- Root: cernere
- Root: *krey-

## Etymology
From Old French discerner, from Latin discernere ('to separate, distinguish'), from dis- ('apart') plus cernere ('to sift, separate, perceive').

## AI Etymology
Discern is from Old French discerner, from Latin discernere ('to separate, distinguish'), from dis- ('apart') plus cernere ('to sift, separate, perceive'). Important recorded forms include discernere (Latin), cernere (Latin), and *krey- (Proto-Indo-European). The current sense covers to perceive or recognize something, often with difficulty. The wider family includes derived forms such as discernment, discernible, and discerning and related words such as discrete, discreet, discriminate, and certain.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

markdown