different between obvious vs discernible

English

Etymology

16th century, from Latin obvius (“being in the way so as to meet, meeting, easy to access, at hand, ready, obvious”), from ob- (“before”) + via (“way”). In order to avoid an awkward form such as *obvy, the Latin ending -us was maintained in the form -ous (which is otherwise equivalent to Latin -osus).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /??b.vi.?s/, (fast speech) /??.vi.?s/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??b.v??s/, /??.v??s/, (fast speech) /??v.j?s/
• Hyphenation: ob?vi?ous

Adjective

obvious (comparative more obvious, superlative most obvious)

1. Easily discovered, seen, or understood; self-explanatory.

   • Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations. It is easily earned repetition to state that Josephine St. Auban's was a presence not to be concealed.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:obvious.

Antonyms

• unobvious
• non-obvious
• subtle

Derived terms

• obviously
• obviousness

Translations

See also

• clear
• evident
• manifest
• plain

Further reading

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

English

Etymology

From Middle French discernable; spelling changed from -a- to -i- in the 17th century to conform to Latin discernibilis. Synchronically analyzable as discern +? -ible.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /d??s?n?bl?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /d??s??n?bl?/
• Hyphenation: dis?cern?ible

Adjective

discernible (comparative more discernible, superlative most discernible)

1. Possible to discern; detectable or derivable by use of the senses or the intellect.
   • So this was my future home, I thought! […] Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.

Synonyms

• See discoverable

Derived terms

• discernibleness
• discernibly
• indiscernible

Related terms

• discernment

Translations

Anagrams

• rescindible

Spanish

Adjective

discernible (plural discernibles)

1. discernible