different between discriminate vs characterize

English

Etymology

From Latin discriminatus, past participle of discriminare (“to divide, separate, distinguish”), from discrimen (“a space between, division, separation, distinction”), from discerno (“to divide, separate, distinguish, discern”); see discern, discreet, discrete. Compare crime.

Pronunciation

• (verb) IPA^(key): /d?s?k??m?ne?t/
• (adjective) IPA^(key): /d?s?k??m?n?t/

Verb

discriminate (third-person singular simple present discriminates, present participle discriminating, simple past and past participle discriminated)

1. (intransitive) To make distinctions.

2. (intransitive, construed with against) To make decisions based on prejudice.

3. (transitive) To set apart as being different; to mark as different; to separate from another by discerning differences; to distinguish.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Cowper to this entry?)

Usage notes

Due to the strong pejorative connotations of sense of “decide based on prejudice”, care should be taken in using the term in the sense “distinguish, make distinctions”, and this sense is primarily used in formal discourse; synonyms are generally used instead.

Synonyms

• (make distinctions): distinguish, differentiate; see also Thesaurus:tell apart
• (make decisions based on prejudice): disfavor

Antonyms

• (make decisions based on prejudice): favor

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

discriminate (comparative more discriminate, superlative most discriminate)

1. Having the difference marked; distinguished by certain tokens.

   • Nevertheless it is certain, that oisters, and cockles, and mussels, which move not, have no discriminate sex

Further reading

• discriminate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• discriminate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Translations

Italian

Verb

discriminate

1. second-person plural present indicative of discriminare
2. second-person plural imperative of discriminare
3. feminine plural of discriminato

Anagrams

• dimenticarsi

Latin

Verb

discr?min?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of discr?min?

English

Alternative forms

• characterise

Etymology

From Medieval Latin characterizare, from Ancient Greek ??????????? (kharakt?ríz?, “to designate by a characteristic mark”), from ???????? (kharakt?r, “a mark, character”). Synchronically analyzable as character +? -ize.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k???kt??a?z/, /?kæ??kt??a?z/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?kæ??kt??a?z/
• Hyphenation: char?ac?ter?ize

Verb

characterize (third-person singular simple present characterizes, present participle characterizing, simple past and past participle characterized)

1. (transitive) To depict someone or something a particular way (often negative).
2. (transitive) To be typical of.
3. (transitive) To determine the characteristics of.

Derived terms

• characterization
• subcharacterize

Translations

Further reading

• characterize in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• characterize in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.