discrimination
[ dih-skrim-uh-ney-shuhn ]
/ dɪˌskrɪm əˈneɪ ʃən /
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.
RELATED CONTENT
Misogyny vs. SexismWith the recent #MeToo and Times Up movements, equality and the empowerment of women have become household conversations around the world. Everyone from your next-door neighbor to your favorite high-school teacher have likely joined the discussion, using a brand new set of vocabulary including the words misogyny and sexism. While these two terms may seem similar, there are actually several differences that make them stand …
RELATED WORDS
intolerance, inequity, favoritism, bigotry, prejudice, injustice, unfairness, hatred, bias, wrong, partiality, taste, subtlety, sense, differentiation, decision, acumen, keenness, clearness, perception
Nearby words
- discriminable,
- discriminant,
- discriminant function,
- discriminate,
- discriminating,
- discrimination learning,
- discriminative,
- discriminator,
- discriminatory,
- discrown
Origin of discrimination
SYNONYMS FOR discrimination
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for discrimination
discrimination
/ (dɪˌskrɪmɪˈneɪʃən) /
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
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
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]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper