Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Discern
Dis-cern′
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Discerned
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Discerning
.] 1.
To see and identify by noting a difference or differences; to note the distinctive character of; to discriminate; to distinguish.
To
discern
such buds as are fit to produce blossoms. Boyle.
A counterfeit stone which thine eye can not
discern
from a right stone. Robynson (More’s Utopia).
2.
To see by the eye or by the understanding; to perceive and recognize;
as, to
. discern
a differenceAnd [I] beheld among the simple ones, I
discerned
among the youths, a young man void of understanding. Prov. vii. 7.
Our unassisted sight . . . is not acute enough to
discern
the minute texture of visible objects. Beattie.
Syn. – To perceive; distinguish; discover; penetrate; discriminate; espy; descry; detect. See
Perceive
. Dis-cern′
,Verb.
I.
1.
To see or understand the difference; to make distinction;
as, to
. discern
between good and evil, truth and falsehoodMore than sixscore thousand that cannot
discern
between their right hand their left. Jonah iv. 11.
2.
To make cognizance.
[Obs.]
Bacon.
Webster 1828 Edition
Discern
DISCERN
,Verb.
T.
1.
To separate by the eye, or by the understanding. Hence,2.
To distinguish; to see the difference between two or more things; to discriminate; as, to discern the blossom-buds from the leaf-buds of plants.Discern thou what is thine--Genesis 31.
3.
To make the difference.For nothing else discerns the virtue or the vice.
4.
To discover; to see; to distinguish by the eye.I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding. Proverbs 7.
5.
To discover by the intellect; to distinguish; hence, to have knowledge of; to judge.So is my lord the king to discern good and bad. 2 Samuel 14.
A wise mans heart discerneth time and judgment. Ecclesiastes 8.
DISCERN
,Verb.
I.
1.
To see or understand the difference; to make distinction; as, to discern between good and evil, truth and falsehood.2.
To have judicial cognizance.