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:
Trump officials argued they had a right to recoup the money under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal law barring discrimination based on race or national origin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The judge said there wasn’t sufficient evidence of ongoing institutionalized racial discrimination at Harvard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Four of them - California, Ohio, Oregon and Pennsylvania - have paused executions through executive actions, as issues of botched executions, discrimination and cost have come to the forefront.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
In fact, Congress enacted Title IX, the statute requiring equal opportunity for women athletes, because it was concerned about sex discrimination, not physical differences between men and women.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
Unlikely as it may seem, the television game show The Weakest Link provides a unique laboratory to study discrimination.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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
Our legal system requires these fine discriminations in order to administer whatever passes for justice these days, and Wilson’s own godfather, Daryle Hallums, asked the black community to “stand down” while the crime is investigated.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2018
More delightful though each one be than the last, it is but reasonable that the wealth of my experience among old ladies should have led me to certain discriminations.
From Atlantic Classics, Second Series by Jane Addams
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.
