discriminator

[ dih-skrim-uh-ney-ter ]

noun

1. a person or thing that discriminates.
2. Electronics. a circuit in which the output is a function of some variation of an input signal from a fixed characteristic.

discriminator

/ dɪˈskrɪmɪˌneɪtə /

noun

1. an electronic circuit that converts a frequency or phase modulation into an amplitude modulation for subsequent demodulation
2. an electronic circuit that has an output voltage only when the amplitude of the input pulses exceeds a predetermined value

Word History and Origins

Origin of discriminator¹

From Late Latin, dating back to 1820–30; discriminate, -tor

Example Sentences

The ruling was based on a conclusion that labeling states as discriminators by relying on information half a century old was not supported.

From Seattle Times

The other network, known as a discriminator, trained on real images and then graded the generated output by comparing it with data on actual faces.

From Scientific American

“I think age is a very good discriminator in terms of risk … It makes for an easy way to administer vaccines without a large process of prioritizing patients.”

From Washington Times

“At some point or another, it’s not much of a discriminator anymore if you define a co-morbidity as something that almost everybody has,” Kass said.

From Washington Post

“This turned out to be a very reliable discriminator for both authors’ styles.

From The Guardian