discrimination

[dih-skrim-uh-ney-shuhn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR discrimination ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an act or instance of discriminating, or of making a distinction.

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.

the power of making fine distinctions; discriminating judgment: She chose the colors with great discrimination.

Archaic. something that serves to differentiate.

Origin of discrimination

1640–50; < Latin discrīminātiōn- (stem of discrīminātiō) a distinguishing. See discriminate, -ion

Related formsdis·crim·i·na·tion·al, adjectivean·ti·dis·crim·i·na·tion, adjectivenon·dis·crim·i·na·tion, nounpre·dis·crim·i·na·tion, nounself-dis·crim·i·na·tion, noun

Synonyms for discrimination

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR discrimination ON THESAURUS.COM

3. discernment, taste, acumen, perception.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for discrimination

intolerance, inequity, favoritism, bigotry, prejudice, injustice, unfairness, hatred, bias, wrong, partiality, taste, subtlety, sense, differentiation, decision, acumen, keenness, clearness, perception

Examples from the Web for discrimination

Contemporary Examples of discrimination

In Scandinavian countries this discrimination has been dramatically reduced.
How Good Dads Can Change the World
Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman
January 6, 2015
But most of this gap, say the researchers who carried out the study, is due to discrimination.
How Good Dads Can Change the World
Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman
January 6, 2015
After the Iranian Revolution, discrimination took on a sectarian flavor.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan
Umar Farooq
December 29, 2014
And as bad as it might be for gay or lesbian people, the discrimination is markedly worse for transgender people.
State of LGBT Rights: Married on Sunday, but Fired on Monday
Gene Robinson
December 14, 2014
Allowing some people to discriminate sends the message that discrimination is okay.
Do LGBTs Owe Christians an Olive Branch? Try The Other Way Around
Jay Michaelson
December 14, 2014

Historical Examples of discrimination

He was calmer now, and able to talk about the Dublin shooting with some discrimination.
Changing Winds
St. John G. Ervine
Manufacturers are already beginning to make a discrimination between wool that is clean and that which is not so.
Address delivered by Hon. Henry H. Crapo, Governor of Michigan, before the Central Michigan Agricultural Society, at their Sheep-shearing Exhibition held at the Agricultural College Farm, on Thursday, May 24th, 1866
Henry Howland Crapo
Facts should be regarded as poisons, to be used sparingly and with discrimination.
The Curse of Education
Harold E. Gorst
She could fire the light-bombs with a discrimination which he might miss.
The Game of Rat and Dragon
Cordwainer Smith
We do not often call them "salaries" but wages, and probably with some discrimination.
Rural Life and the Rural School
Joseph Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for discrimination

discrimination

noun

unfair treatment of a person, racial group, minority, etc; action based on prejudice

subtle appreciation in matters of taste

the ability to see fine distinctions and differences

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

Derived Formsdiscriminational, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for discrimination

1640s, "the making of distinctions," from Late Latin discriminationem (nominative discriminatio), noun of action from past participle stem of discriminare (see discriminate). Especially in a prejudicial way, based on race, 1866, American English. Meaning "discernment" is from 1814.

It especially annoys me when racists are accused of 'discrimination.' The ability to discriminate is a precious facility; by judging all members of one 'race' to be the same, the racist precisely shows himself incapable of discrimination. [Christopher Hitchens]