discern
part of speech
verb (discern, discerns, discerned, discerning)
meaning for a pupil
1) To see, hear or notice something that is hard to see or hear. tree →
2) To understand or recognise something, often a difference, by thinking carefully. tree →
3) (formal) To tell apart, such as right from wrong. tree →
sense in the lessons
In reading lessons, pupils discern the author's meaning or a character's feelings from clues. In science, you may discern a pattern in data. In fog or dark, you can barely discern shapes. In church and ethics, Christians speak of discerning what is right or what God wants. Phrases: «hard to discern», «discern between», «discern a pattern».
examples
- Through the fog we could just discern the lighthouse. tree →
- Can you discern a pattern in these numbers? tree →
- It was hard to discern what she meant. tree →
- Babies soon learn to discern their mother's voice. tree →
- Good readers discern clues the writer has hidden. tree →
- He could not discern any difference between the two cakes. tree →
- The judge must discern truth from lies. tree →
- So rapidly did they grow, that Cadmus now discerned the fierce countenance of a man beneath every one. tree →
note
Formal word; pronounced «di-SURN» (the «s» sounds like «s», sometimes «z»). Adjective: discerning (good at judging quality). Noun: discernment. In everyday talk people say «make out» or «spot».
In the corpora
- And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him.
- If they were wise, they would understand this, they would discern their latter end.
- Then shall ye again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not.
- Who can discern his errors?
- And I beheld among the thoughtless ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «discern» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.