# discrimination

Pronunciation: say "dis-krim-uh-NAY-shuhn" US /dɪˌskɹɪm.əˈneɪʃən/, AUS /dɪskɹɪm.əˈnæɪʃən/; UK say "dis-krim-i-NAY-shuhn" /dɪskɹɪmɪˈneɪʃən/

## Noun

1. Unfair treatment of a person or group based on their class or category rather than their individual qualities.
   - Simple: Unfair treatment of someone because of the group they belong to, such as race, sex, or age.
   - _Many employees reported discrimination based on their religion._
   - _The agency investigates discrimination in hiring and promotion._
2. Keen judgment in recognizing fine distinctions, especially in matters of good taste.
   - Simple: The skill of telling good things from bad, especially in matters of taste and quality.
   - _A collector of real discrimination can spot a forgery at a glance._
   - _Her discrimination in music set her apart from casual listeners._
3. The act of perceiving differences between things in order to understand them correctly and make sound decisions.
   - Simple: The act of noticing how things differ so you can understand them and choose well.
   - _Careful discrimination between the two species depends on tiny differences in the leaves._
   - _Wine tasting demands fine discrimination among subtle flavors._

## Noun

4. A distinguishing mark or characteristic by which one thing is told apart from another. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A mark or feature that makes one thing different from another.
   - _The naturalist noted every discrimination that separated the two beetles._
   - _Old heraldic manuals listed the discriminations that set one family's arms apart from another's._

## Origin

A learned borrowing from Latin discrīminātiō, the action noun of the verb discrīminō, discrīmināre ("distinguish"); it is equivalent to discriminate plus -ion and has been in English use since the 17th century.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/discrimination (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).