1
as in to notice
to make note of (something) through the use of one's eyes
barely able to discern the garden gate through the mist
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to differentiate
to understand or point out the difference in
too young to discern between right and wrong
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to understand
to have a clear idea of
we're still trying to discern the meaning of that cryptic remark
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of discern
Sinatra sends her to the diner, where Xavier is having a meal, to discern what he’s got planned.
—
Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 18 Feb. 2025
According to Michael Tomasello, a comparative psychologist at Duke University, who was not involved in the new study, chimpanzees are also able to discern ignorance and modify their communication as a result.
—Jack Tamisiea, Scientific American, 3 Feb. 2025
The father did not have custody of the child but had been in the home several times leading up to police discerning the state of the apartment, officials said.
—Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 31 Jan. 2025
All of the studies about alcohol’s effect on health are observational—meaning that researchers have participants report their behavior (in this case, drinking amount or frequency) and discern health outcomes through self-reporting or medical records.
—Kaitlin Sullivan, Health, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for discern
Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 18 Feb. 2025
According to Michael Tomasello, a comparative psychologist at Duke University, who was not involved in the new study, chimpanzees are also able to discern ignorance and modify their communication as a result.
—Jack Tamisiea, Scientific American, 3 Feb. 2025
The father did not have custody of the child but had been in the home several times leading up to police discerning the state of the apartment, officials said.
—Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 31 Jan. 2025
All of the studies about alcohol’s effect on health are observational—meaning that researchers have participants report their behavior (in this case, drinking amount or frequency) and discern health outcomes through self-reporting or medical records.
—Kaitlin Sullivan, Health, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for discern
Recent Examples of Synonyms for discern
Verb
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But in the past two years, users have begun to notice advertisements for the casino taking up a sizable amount of space online.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
23 Feb. 2025
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Do Republicans even notice the turmoil that is gripping this country?—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
22 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Royal Caribbean takes pains to differentiate those spaces from others on board.—
Nathan Diller,
USA TODAY,
17 Feb. 2025
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Picking your form of government used to feel like an existential choice, but now despotism and oligarchy are hardly differentiated.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2025
Verb
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But the players, at least, understood the importance of that moment, and not just everything that had come before.—
Louisa Thomas,
The New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2025
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IndieWire understands that Italian real estate is already looking at these locations to potentially convert them in anticipation of the vote.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
23 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Austria saw some success with this rule, but Australia did not.—
Aldo Flores-Quiroga,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
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For years, Broccoli and Wilson resisted the siren call to fully exploit the property that is based on Ian Fleming’s spy novels across multiple platforms and sometimes didn’t see eye-to-eye with each other, according to insiders.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Many of the sharks in this area are juveniles and haven’t yet fully developed the ability to distinguish between humans and their natural prey, which includes fish, stingrays and other sharks.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
13 Feb. 2025
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Many of the sharks in this area are juveniles and fail to distinguish between humans and their prey, which includes fish, stingrays and other sharks, according to the statement.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Who knew the hardest thing about an awards show acceptance speech could be holding the trophy?—
Anna Kaufman,
USA TODAY,
25 Feb. 2025
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The latest iteration of American economic warfare, following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, has been different: U.S. officials knew months ahead of time that Russia was gearing up to invade.—
Edward Fishman,
The Atlantic,
24 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The space rock was spotted late last year and reported on Dec. 27, 2024, to the Minor Planet Center, the official authority for observing and reporting new asteroids, comets and other small bodies in the solar system.—
James Powel,
USA TODAY,
21 Feb. 2025
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According to Storyful, the fish was spotted along shallow waters of a Baja California Sur beach on Feb. 9.—
Jessica Botelho,
Baltimore Sun,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Millennials will love deciphering which real-life stars inspired the plot.—
Tia Williams,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2025
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Freshman Max Granville tried to decipher whether defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton was staying.—
Audrey Snyder,
The Athletic,
12 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Discern.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discern. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
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