discriminate
Americanverb (used without object)
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discriminates,
present (3rd person singular)
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discriminated,
past participle, past
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discriminating
present participle
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to make a distinction in favor of or against a person or thing on the basis of the group, class, or category to which the person or thing belongs rather than according to actual merit; show partiality.
The new law discriminates against foreigners. He discriminates in favor of his relatives.
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to note or observe a difference; distinguish accurately.
to discriminate between things.
verb (used with object)
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discriminates,
present (3rd person singular)
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discriminated,
past participle, past
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discriminating
present participle
-
to make or constitute a distinction in or between; differentiate.
a mark that discriminates the original from the copy.
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to note or distinguish as different.
He can discriminate minute variations in tone.
adjective
verb
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(intr; usually foll by in favour of or against) to single out a particular person, group, etc, for special favour or, esp, disfavour, often because of a characteristic such as race, colour, sex, intelligence, etc
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to recognize or understand the difference (between); distinguish
to discriminate right and wrong
to discriminate between right and wrong
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(intr) to constitute or mark a difference
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(intr) to be discerning in matters of taste
adjective
Synonym Usage
See distinguish.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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discriminatornoun
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prediscriminateverb (used with object)
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half-discriminatedadjective
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undiscriminatedadjective
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discriminatelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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discriminatesimple
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discriminatessimple
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have discriminatedperfect
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has discriminatedperfect
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am discriminatingprogressive
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are discriminatingprogressive
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is discriminatingprogressive
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have been discriminatingperfect progressive
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has been discriminatingperfect progressive
Past
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discriminatedsimple
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had discriminatedperfect
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was discriminatingprogressive
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were discriminatingprogressive
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had been discriminatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of discriminate
First recorded in 1620–30; from Latin discrīminātus “separated,” past participle of discrīmināre “to separate”; see discriminant
Explanation
When you discriminate between two things, you can tell the difference between them and can tell them apart. The ability to discriminate between similar objects is important. For example, if you want to be a good root farmer, it helps if you can discriminate between a turnip and a parsnip. However, some people take it too far and discriminate against other people, treating them differently based on their physical characteristics or abilities. To be able to discriminate between a turnip and a radish is good, but to discriminate against people is not.
Vocabulary lists containing discriminate
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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:
The law lets the President impose tariffs up to 50% on countries that discriminate against “commerce of the United States, directly or indirectly” in relation to foreign countries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
He added the condition "doesn't discriminate", and learning children could also be affected spurred him on to share his story.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
As a condition of being tax-exempt, nonprofit private schools must attest that they won’t discriminate based on race, color, or national or ethnic origin.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Mulan Build "sends a message: if these platforms choose to discriminate against us, we do not need to rely on them", she said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
The VLA is able to resolve or discriminate fine detail in the radio regions of the spectrum comparable to what the largest ground-based telescopes can do in the optical region of the spectrum.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
It broadly states that a school isn’t tax exempt if it has “any” practice, in “any” program, that discriminates based on race.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Snyder struck it down on Feb. 9, writing that she was “constrained” to do so because the exemption of state police “unlawfully discriminates against federal officers.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2026
The pair are part of a group of around 40 veterans who have been rejected for the payment, and say the scheme's criteria unfairly discriminates against lower-ranking veterans who felt forced out of the military.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
Roberts attempted to sidestep this problem by claiming that Tennessee’s law only discriminates on the basis of age and “medical use.”
From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2025
It is easy to see how minds not gifted with a highly developed critical faculty, or the instinctive sense that discriminates the true from the false, would yield hopelessly to such a formidable assault.
From H. P. Blavatsky A Great Betrayal by Alice Leighton Cleather
"No one should be discriminated against because of who they are or who they love," he said on his website, adding: "I am committed to fighting for the dignity and equality of all Americans."
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
What Lockheed Martin agreed to pay to resolve allegations from the Justice Department that it discriminated against white workers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
In June, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Tawa Supermarket Inc., alleging the company “violated federal law when it fired and otherwise discriminated against non-Chinese workers based on their national origin.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
“Today’s report provides irrefutable evidence that the nation’s largest banks have denied, debanked and discriminated against customers and lawful businesses,” Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
A rising union man named Samuel Gompers stopped by Burnham’s office to discuss allegations that the exposition discriminated against union workers.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
The court’s six conservatives, all of whom were raised Catholic, leaned in favor of ruling the state was discriminating based on religion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
“You’ve seen market participants that are discriminating between the kinds of investments they want to make,” he added.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2026
It is language that courts have long interpreted as preventing the government from discriminating against the media based on the content of their coverage.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Federal law prohibits employers from discriminating based on characteristics such as race, color, religion, sex and national origin as well as age and disabilities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
The man seemed to go out of his way to use long words like discriminating and unadulterated.
From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
