discern

Word family

di·scern /dɪˈsɜːn $ -ɜːrn/ verb [transitiveT] formal

1 LOOK ATTHINK ABOUTto notice or understand something by thinking about it carefully 〔仔細思考之後〕覺察出，弄清楚，辨明

discern what/where/why etc

Officials were keen to discern how much public support there was.

官員們急切地想了解公衆的支持率有多高。

► see thesaurus at recognize

2 to be able to see something by looking carefully 〔費勁地〕看出，辨認出 SYN perceive

We could just discern a town in the distance.

我們依稀看到遠處有一座城鎮。

—discernible adjectiveadj

—discernibly adverbadv

n GRAMMAR: Usign the progressive

Discern is not used in the progressive. You say:

I discern a slight difference.

✗Don’t say: I am discerning a slight difference.

Examples from the Corpus

discern• Politicians are good at discerning public opinion.• Then, discerning an unfilled need, he started a cigar-box company in the heart of the Southern Ontario tobacco fields.• There are many other issues where this same pattern can be discerned.• The wish to discern a framework for the Earth itself is something which dates back at least to the time of Ptolemy.• Only a few large, blotchy markings could be discerned by telescopic observers.• Lucas claims that such a relationship can be discerned in his data.• The telescope can discern objects incredibly distant in space.• The study of structure and function will to some extent discern similarities of process in these movements.• Presently, Cleo was able to discern the rattle of gentle snoring coming from the adjoining room.• Two distinct trends may be discerned, though the same writer may work in both conventions.

discern what/where/why etc• From what you've seen as both founder and trustee, can you discern where art-philanthropy might be heading?• He was still quite unable to discern what the bequest could possibly be, let alone whether it was of any value.• I could not see far enough to discern what the far gym contained.

Origin discern

(1300-1400) Latin discernere “to separate”, from cernere “to sift”

di·scern verb →n GRAMMAR1

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