indiscernible

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   impossible or extremely difficult to perceive clearly

   The footpath was almost indiscernible beneath the fallen leaves.

2. 2
   adj

   impossible to distinguish from something else

   Under the test conditions, the two samples were indiscernible from one another.

3. 3
   noun

   chiefly philosophy: a thing or entity that cannot be distinguished from another by its properties

   The identity of indiscernibles denies that two distinct indiscernibles can share every property.

Formed from in-, 'not,' + discernible. Discernible derives from discern, ultimately Latin discernere, 'to separate or distinguish,' from dis-, 'apart,' + cernere, 'to sift or distinguish.' The philosophical noun use treats an indistinguishable entity as an indiscernible.

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