Discriminate
/dɪˈskrɪmɪneɪt/
Definitions
2 meaningsTo treat a person or particular group of people differently, in a way that is unfair.
/dɪˈskrɪmɪneɪt/
To recognize a distinction; to treat someone or something differently based on a category or group, often in a negative way.
The law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on their race or religion.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're picking teams for a game, but you only choose people from one class. Discriminating means you're treating people unfairly because of something about them, like their race, gender, or origin. For example, in school, a teacher may NOT discriminate students when assigning work.
👶 For kids: To treat someone badly because they are different.
More Examples
It's wrong to discriminate against people based on their beliefs.
She learned to discriminate between different types of birds by their songs.
How It's Used
"The company was found guilty of discriminating against female employees."
"It's important to discriminate between fact and opinion."
To recognize a distinction; to be able to tell the difference between two or more things.
/dɪˈskrɪmɪneɪt/
To recognize or perceive the difference between.
The trained chef could discriminate between different grades of olive oil.
💡 Simply: If you can tell the difference between two things, like different kinds of candies by their taste or seeing what's different with a picture. It's like when you can discriminate if a fact or fiction.
👶 For kids: To tell the difference between things.
More Examples
She learned to discriminate the various types of bird calls.
It is important to discriminate between legitimate news sources and fake news.
How It's Used
"Dogs can discriminate between different scents."
"It's important to discriminate between truth and lies."
Idioms & expressions
racial discrimination
Treating someone unfairly because of their race.
"Racial discrimination remains a serious problem in many parts of the world."
gender discrimination
Treating someone unfairly because of their gender.
"Gender discrimination is illegal in most workplaces."
From Latin *discriminare* 'to separate, distinguish', from *discrimen* 'a dividing line, distinction'.
Historically, the word has been used in legal and social contexts since the 17th century.
Memory tip
Think of separating things based on unfair criteria; a 'dis-criminate' creates divisions and unfair treatment.