discriminate
verb · adjective
Simple meaning
Treat differently on the basis of sex or race.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dihskrimuhnaytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
dɪskˈɹɪməneɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Treat differently on the basis of sex or race
To treat or affect differently, depending on differences in traits.
transitive
To set apart as being different; to mark as different; to separate from another by discerning differences; to distinguish.
“I could not discriminate the different tastes in this complicated dish.”
intransitiveconstrued with against
To make decisions harmful to (a person or group) based on prejudice.
intransitive
To make distinctions.
adjective
Having its differences marked; distinguished by certain tokens.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Treat differently on the basis of sex or race
Used this way, discriminate is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use discriminate
- “I could not discriminate the different tastes in this complicated dish.”verb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Showing or indicating careful judgment and discernment especially in matters of taste.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: treat differently on the basis of sex or race
Antonyms
Sense: having its differences marked
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “discriminate” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.