discriminate
C1Formal and academic, but also common in legal, social, and news contexts.
Definition
Meaning
To recognize a distinction or difference; to treat someone or something differently, often unfairly, based on a specific characteristic.
To exercise good judgment or discernment in matters of taste, quality, or ethics. In legal and social contexts, to make an unjust distinction in treatment.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The word has two primary, almost opposite, senses: 1) Positive: to perceive fine distinctions, to be discerning. 2) Negative: to treat people unjustly based on prejudice. Context is crucial for disambiguation.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage. The legal frameworks and societal discussions are identical.
Connotations
Equally strong negative connotations when referring to unfair treatment. The positive sense of 'being discerning' is equally formal in both varieties.
Frequency
Similar high frequency in legal, political, and social discourse.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[verb] against [noun phrase] (e.g., discriminate against women)[verb] between [noun phrase] and [noun phrase] (e.g., discriminate between fact and opinion)[verb] on the basis/grounds of [noun phrase] (e.g., discriminate on the basis of age)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “(To have) discriminating taste”
- “Without fear or favour (related legal/administrative principle)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Refers to illegal practices in hiring, promotion, or pay based on protected characteristics.
Academic
Used in social sciences to analyse systemic bias, and in psychology for perceptual or cognitive differentiation tasks.
Everyday
Most commonly used in its negative sense concerning unfair treatment ("That policy discriminates against single parents").
Technical
In signal processing or machine learning: the ability of a system to correctly classify or distinguish between signals or data points.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The law prohibits employers from discriminating on grounds of race or colour.
- A true connoisseur can discriminate between several regional olive oils.
- The tribunal found the company had discriminated against part-time staff.
adverb
British English
- N/A (The adverb 'discriminately' is virtually obsolete and not in standard use.)
American English
- N/A (The adverb 'discriminately' is virtually obsolete and not in standard use.)
adjective
British English
- Her discriminate choice of words avoided causing offence. (Formal, rare)
American English
- He made a discriminate selection of investments. (Formal, rare)
Examples
By CEFR Level
- It is wrong to discriminate against people because of their age.
- Can you discriminate between the twin brothers?
- The new policy was accused of discriminating against immigrants from certain regions.
- The test measures your ability to discriminate between similar sounds in the language.
- The court ruled that the zoning law indirectly discriminated against low-income families.
- His highly discriminate taste in literature meant he rarely enjoyed popular bestsellers.
- Machine learning models must be carefully audited to ensure they do not discriminate on protected attributes.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a 'crime' in the middle of the word. Unfairly discriminating against someone is often a social or legal crime.
Conceptual Metaphor
JUSTICE IS BALANCE / INJUSTICE IS IMBALANCE. Discrimination upsets the balance of fair treatment.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid directly translating from Russian 'дискриминировать'. The English verb 'discriminate' is almost always used with a preposition (against/between).
- The Russian 'различать' is better translated as 'distinguish' or 'differentiate', not 'discriminate', unless in very formal contexts about fine perception.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'discriminate' without the required preposition (e.g., 'He discriminates women' is wrong; must be 'He discriminates against women').
- Confusing the adjective 'discriminate' (meaning discerning) with the more common 'discriminating'. The adjective is rare.
Practice
Quiz
In which sentence is 'discriminate' used in a POSITIVE sense?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. While its most common contemporary use is negative (unfair treatment), it has a formal positive meaning of 'showing good judgment or the ability to perceive fine distinctions', as in 'a discriminating collector'.
It depends on the meaning. For the negative sense of unfair treatment, use 'discriminate AGAINST someone'. For the neutral sense of telling things apart, use 'discriminate BETWEEN two or more things' or 'discriminate AMONG many things'.
Both can mean 'to perceive a difference'. 'Distinguish' is more common and neutral. 'Discriminate' in this sense is more formal and implies finer, more nuanced judgment. Crucially, only 'discriminate' has the strong negative meaning related to prejudice.
Yes, but it is very rare and formal (e.g., 'a discriminate choice'). The much more common adjective is 'discriminating' (e.g., 'a discriminating customer'). The negative adjective is 'discriminatory'.