discern
verb /dɪˈsɜːn/
/dɪˈsɜːrn/
not used in the progressive tenses (formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they discern | /dɪˈsɜːn/ /dɪˈsɜːrn/ |
| he / she / it discerns | /dɪˈsɜːnz/ /dɪˈsɜːrnz/ |
| past simple discerned | /dɪˈsɜːnd/ /dɪˈsɜːrnd/ |
| past participle discerned | /dɪˈsɜːnd/ /dɪˈsɜːrnd/ |
| -ing form discerning | /dɪˈsɜːnɪŋ/ /dɪˈsɜːrnɪŋ/ |
- to know, recognize or understand something, especially something that is not obvious synonym detect
- discern something It is possible to discern a number of different techniques in her work.
- He discerned a certain coldness in their welcome.
- discern how, whether, etc… It is often difficult to discern how widespread public support is.
- discern that… I quickly discerned that something was wrong.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- clearly
- easily
- readily
- …
- be able to
- can
- be difficult to
- …
- discern something to see or hear something, usually with difficulty synonym make out
- We could just discern the house in the distance.
- She could clearly discern a figure walking up towards the house.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- clearly
- easily
- readily
- …
- be able to
- can
- be difficult to
- …
Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French from Latin discernere, from dis- ‘apart’ + cernere ‘to separate’.