discerned

1 definition found

discerned - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Discern \Dis*cern"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Discerned; p. pr. &
     vb. n. Discerning.] [F. discerner, L. discernere,
     discretum; dis- + cernere to separate, distinguish. See
     Certain, and cf. Discreet.]
     1. To see and identify by noting a difference or differences;
        to note the distinctive character of; to discriminate; to
        distinguish.
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              To discern such buds as are fit to produce blossoms.
                                                    --Boyle.
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              A counterfeit stone which thine eye can not discern
              from a right stone.                   --Robynson
                                                    (More's
                                                    Utopia).
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     2. To see by the eye or by the understanding; to perceive and
        recognize; as, to discern a difference.
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              And [I] beheld among the simple ones, I discerned
              among the youths, a young man void of understanding.
                                                    --Prov. vii.
                                                    7.
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              Our unassisted sight . . . is not acute enough to
              discern the minute texture of visible objects.
                                                    --Beattie.
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              I wake, and I discern the truth.      --Tennyson.
  
     Syn: To perceive; distinguish; discover; penetrate;
          discriminate; espy; descry; detect. See Perceive.
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