discriminating
Americanadjective
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able to distinguish differences or distinctions; differentiating; analytic.
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noting differences or distinctions with nicety; discerning; perspicacious.
a discriminating interpreter of events.
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having excellent taste or judgment.
a discriminating interior designer.
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differential, as a tariff.
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possessing distinctive features; capable of being differentiated; discriminative.
adjective
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able to see fine distinctions and differences
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discerning in matters of taste
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(of a tariff, import duty, etc) levied at differential rates in order to favour or discourage imports or exports
Other Word Forms
- discriminatingly adverb
- half-discriminating adjective
- half-discriminatingly adverb
- nondiscriminating adjective
- nondiscriminatingly adverb
- overdiscriminating adjective
- overdiscriminatingly adverb
- quasi-discriminating adjective
- quasi-discriminatingly adverb
- undiscriminating adjective
- undiscriminatingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of discriminating
First recorded in 1640–50; discriminat(e) + -ing 2
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.
Moscow accuses both countries of discriminating against Russian speakers.
From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026
She also now accuses NHS Fife of discriminating against her, and its director of people and culture, David Miller, of harassment.
From BBC • Dec. 1, 2025
They also reinforce Chief Justice John Roberts’s observation that “the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025
In 2007, Chief Justice John Roberts famously declared: “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”
From Slate • Sep. 22, 2025
The one quality they all have in common is an informed love of works of art—an attitude at once discriminating and enthusiastic that lends particular weight to their judgments.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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.
