discrimination

[ dih-skrim-uh-ney-shuhn ]

noun

1. an act or instance of discriminating, or of making a distinction.
2. treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit:

   racial and religious intolerance and discrimination.

3. the power of making fine distinctions; discriminating judgment:

   She chose the colors with great discrimination.

   Synonyms: perception, acumen, taste, discernment

4. Archaic. something that serves to differentiate.

discrimination

/ dɪˌskrɪmɪˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. unfair treatment of a person, racial group, minority, etc; action based on prejudice
2. subtle appreciation in matters of taste
3. the ability to see fine distinctions and differences
4. electronics the selection of a signal having a particular frequency, amplitude, phase, etc, effected by the elimination of other signals by means of a discriminator

Derived Forms

• disˌcrimiˈnational, adjective

Other Words From

• dis·crimi·nation·al adjective
• anti·dis·crimi·nation adjective
• nondis·crimi·nation noun
• predis·crimi·nation noun
• self-dis·crimi·nation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of discrimination¹

First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin discrīminātiōn-, stem of discrīminātiō “division, separation,” literally “a dividing,” equivalent to discrīmināt(us) “separated” (past participle of discrīmināre “to divide up, separate”; discriminate ) + -ion ( def )

Example Sentences

“When you look at discrimination in the face — these people who got up and testified for hours about what it’s like to be denied the right to marry, it’s transformative,” she said in a 2013 interview with The Times.

From Los Angeles Times

Olson sued on behalf of two gay couples, and Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that it was unconstitutional discrimination to deny them the right to marry.

From Los Angeles Times

“When they start being sued for fair housing discrimination and other things, which they will be, because they have no idea what they're doing, they will come back to us,” Corley said.

From Salon

Other films to be reclassified were 1947's Black Narcissus, which went from U to PG due to "mild threat, violence, brief bloody images and discrimination", and 1995's Higher Learning, which went from 15 to 18 for "sexual violence".

From BBC

Throughout her career, Jamison was open about the discrimination that she and fellow Black company members faced early on.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bigotry
• favoritism
• hatred
• inequity
• injustice
• intolerance
• prejudice
• unfairness