discrimination
Americannoun
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discriminations
plural
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an act or instance of discriminating, or of making a distinction.
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treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit.
racial and religious intolerance and discrimination.
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the power of making fine distinctions; discriminating judgment.
She chose the colors with great discrimination.
- Synonyms:
- perception, acumen, taste, discernment
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Archaic. something that serves to differentiate.
noun
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unfair treatment of a person, racial group, minority, etc; action based on prejudice
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subtle appreciation in matters of taste
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the ability to see fine distinctions and differences
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electronics the selection of a signal having a particular frequency, amplitude, phase, etc, effected by the elimination of other signals by means of a discriminator
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nondiscriminationnoun
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prediscriminationnoun
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self-discriminationnoun
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antidiscriminationadjective
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discriminationaladjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of discrimination
First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin discrīminātiōn-, stem of discrīminātiō “division, separation,” literally “a dividing,” equivalent to discrīmināt(us) “separated” (past participle of discrīmināre “to divide up, separate”; see discriminate) + -ion ( def. )
Explanation
Discrimination means distinguishing between two or more people or things. Usually, discrimination means an unfair system that treats one group of people worse than another. Discrimination isn't always a bad thing. You have to use discrimination to tell a good restaurant from a bad one, or a good idea from a bad one. However, this word is very tarnished by its main use these days: as a word for unfair treatment of people, based on racism, sexism, homophobia, or another prejudice. There is a huge history of discrimination in the United States.
Vocabulary lists containing discrimination
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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The Watsons Go to Birmingham
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"On Women's Right to Vote" by Susan B. Anthony
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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.
See Examples For:
Even though the community suffers from extensive poverty due in part to discrimination and the few resources refugees from a war-torn country are able to marshal, it has also produced a large number of entrepreneurs.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
He said: "With all three unions now engaging with their memberships, we are moving closer to the outcome we have always wanted to achieve: ending pay discrimination in Glasgow City Council once and for all."
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Katz and Junger sued, accusing their ex-bosses of discrimination and retaliation, and held a press conference.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
The UN Human Rights Council on Monday unanimously urged the Taliban to repeal all practices restricting the fundamental freedoms of women and girls, saying Afghanistan's institutionalised discrimination should shock humanity.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
Perhaps most heroic are those who, upon release, launch social justice organizations that challenge the discrimination formerly incarcerated people face and provide desperately needed support for those newly released from prison.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
The #MeToo movement in 2017 increased awareness of the subtle - and the not so subtle - discriminations women face at work.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2024
Italy’s watchdog added that the measures imposed aimed at avoiding discriminations and granting efficiency to any potential new players in the sector.
From Reuters ● Oct. 14, 2021
However, as of mid-August, only 28% of young Black New York City residents are vaccinated, often rooted in distrust of government or current discriminations.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 22, 2021
But making discriminations isn’t always discriminatory, and it isn’t a knockdown argument against a rule to say that it excludes good candidates and includes bad ones.
From New York Times ● Jul. 24, 2018
The same would be the result in all the other counties in the state were the manner of taxing railroads so changed as to make no discriminations in their favor.
From Monopolies and the People by D. C. Cloud
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
