discrimination

[ dih-skrim-uh-ney-shuhn ]
/ dɪˌskrɪm əˈneɪ ʃən /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR discrimination ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an act or instance of discriminating, or of making a distinction.
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.
the power of making fine distinctions; discriminating judgment: She chose the colors with great discrimination.
Archaic. something that serves to differentiate.

Origin of discrimination

1640–50; < Latin discrīminātiōn- (stem of discrīminātiō) a distinguishing. See discriminate, -ion

OTHER WORDS FROM discrimination

Words nearby discrimination

discriminable, discriminant, discriminant function, discriminate, discriminating, discrimination, discrimination learning, discriminative, discriminator, discriminatory, discrown

Words related to discrimination

intolerance, inequity, favoritism, bigotry, prejudice, injustice, unfairness, hatred, bias, wrong, partiality, taste, subtlety, sense, differentiation, decision, acumen, keenness, clearness, perception

Example sentences from the Web for discrimination

British Dictionary definitions for discrimination

discrimination
/ (dɪˌskrɪmɪˈneɪʃən) /

noun

unfair treatment of a person, racial group, minority, etc; action based on prejudice
subtle appreciation in matters of taste
the ability to see fine distinctions and differences
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 of discrimination

discriminational, adjective