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 )

Related Words

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