discriminatory
Americanadjective
-
characterized by or showing prejudicial treatment, especially as an indication of bias related to age, race, skin color, national origin, religion, sex, gender, etc..
Discriminatory practices in housing historically led to racially segregated neighborhoods.
They passed a discriminatory tax mainly impacting immigrants to the country.
adjective
-
based on or showing prejudice; biased
-
capable of making fine distinctions
-
(of a statistical test) unbiased
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of discriminatory
First recorded in 1820–30; discriminate + -ory 1
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.
The federal Internet Tax Freedom Act prohibits state and local governments from imposing discriminatory taxes on digital commerce.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026
“UC Davis School of Medicine strongly disagrees with any characterization of its admissions practices as discriminatory or inconsistent with applicable law,” a school statement read.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
He added that education, rather than "punitive punishment", is the solution to children displaying discriminatory behaviour where it comes from a "lack of understanding and without intention to offend".
From BBC • May 26, 2026
Carr said the review stemmed from a probe into whether the network’s diversity programs were discriminatory and that they had had nothing to do with the latest Kimmel kerfuffle.
From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026
“New Negro” quickly came to mean an African American who refused to obey the discriminatory laws under which pre-World War I blacks were forced to live.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
