discriminating
Americanadjective
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able to distinguish differences or distinctions; differentiating; analytic.
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noting differences or distinctions with nicety; discerning; perspicacious.
a discriminating interpreter of events.
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having excellent taste or judgment.
a discriminating interior designer.
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differential, as a tariff.
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possessing distinctive features; capable of being differentiated; discriminative.
adjective
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able to see fine distinctions and differences
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discerning in matters of taste
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(of a tariff, import duty, etc) levied at differential rates in order to favour or discourage imports or exports
Other Word Forms
- discriminatingly adverb
- half-discriminating adjective
- half-discriminatingly adverb
- nondiscriminating adjective
- nondiscriminatingly adverb
- overdiscriminating adjective
- overdiscriminatingly adverb
- quasi-discriminating adjective
- quasi-discriminatingly adverb
- undiscriminating adjective
- undiscriminatingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of discriminating
First recorded in 1640–50; discriminat(e) + -ing 2
Explanation
Someone discriminating has fine-grained judgment and can tell, for example, the difference between pretty good cookies and incredibly great cookies — a valuable skill. There are many areas of life where being discriminating can help you. A discriminating TV watcher will only watch the best shows, while someone undiscriminating will watch anything that's on. When eating, being discriminating is especially useful: why eat food that's badly prepared or unhealthy if you don't have to? A discriminating person can pick up on the small differences between things and use those differences to make better choices. We should all try to be more discriminating.
Vocabulary lists containing discriminating
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Moscow accuses both countries of discriminating against Russian speakers.
From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026
She also now accuses NHS Fife of discriminating against her, and its director of people and culture, David Miller, of harassment.
From BBC • Dec. 1, 2025
They also reinforce Chief Justice John Roberts’s observation that “the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025
In 2007, Chief Justice John Roberts famously declared: “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”
From Slate • Sep. 22, 2025
“Are you discriminating against snakes and turtles? Do they not need loving, caring forever homes?”
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
