discriminatory

[ dih-skrim-uh-nuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee ]
See synonyms for discriminatory on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. 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.

Origin of discriminatory

1
First recorded in 1820–30; discriminate + -ory1

Other words from discriminatory

  • dis·crim·i·na·to·ri·ly, adverb
  • non·dis·crim·i·na·to·ry, adjective
  • un·dis·crim·i·na·to·ry, adjective

Words that may be confused with discriminatory

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use discriminatory in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for discriminatory

discriminatory

discriminative (dɪˈskrɪmɪnətɪv)

/ (dɪˈskrɪmɪnətərɪ, -trɪ) /


adjective
  1. based on or showing prejudice; biased

  2. capable of making fine distinctions

  1. (of a statistical test) unbiased

Derived forms of discriminatory

  • discriminatorily or discriminatively, adverb

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