discrimination
[noun]
Synonyms:
- prejudice, bias, bigotry, favouritism, intolerance, unfairness
- discernment, judgment, perception, refinement, subtlety, taste

---

Contrasted words: crassness, density, slowness
Related Words: judgment, sense

---

English Thesaurus: prejudice, discrimination, intolerance, bigotry, racism/racial prejudice, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

di‧scrim‧i‧na‧tion /dɪˌskrɪməˈneɪʃən, dɪˌskrɪmɪˈneɪʃən/ noun [uncountable]
[Word Family: verb: discriminate; noun: discrimination; adjective: discriminatory]

1. the practice of treating one person or group differently from another in an unfair way:
laws to prevent discrimination
discrimination against
widespread discrimination against older people in the job market
discrimination in favour of
discrimination in favour of university graduates
racial/sex/religious etc discrimination (=treating someone unfairly because of their race, sex etc) ⇒ positive discrimination, reverse discrimination

2. the ability to recognize the difference between two or more things, especially the difference in their quality:
shape discrimination

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

discrimination
noun
I. treating a person/group unfairly
ADJ. age, class, gender, race/racial, religious, sex/sexual | widespread There is widespread discrimination against doctors of Asian origin.
active, blatant, direct, explicit, overt evidence of active discrimination against black workers
covert, indirect | positive, reverse positive discrimination in favour of disadvantaged racial groups
illegal, unlawful Overt sex or race discrimination is illegal.
employment, job | government, institutional/institutionalized institutionalized discrimination against women within the police force
QUANT. level Levels of discrimination against recent immigrants are high.
VERB + DISCRIMINATION amount to, constitute Racist remarks by an employer to an employee can amount to unlawful discrimination.
experience, face, suffer (from) Many disabled people suffer discrimination at work.
practise | allege law suits alleging discrimination
be opposed to, combat, fight | ban, end, forbid, outlaw, prohibit, stop
DISCRIMINATION + VERB occur The discrimination occurred at the shortlisting stage, not the interviews.
PREP. ~ against discrimination against women
~ by Discrimination by age is as vicious as discrimination by race.
~ in favour of Some firms practise discrimination in favour of older people.
~ on the grounds of It's time we banned discrimination on the grounds of age.
PHRASES a victim of discrimination

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

discrimination
II. judgement
ADJ. great | careful, fine
VERB + DISCRIMINATION make Young children find it difficult to make fine discriminations.
show She showed great discrimination in rejecting the poor quality teas.
PREP. ~ between discrimination between right and wrong

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

discrimination

racial/race discrimination
Laws have been passed banning racial discrimination.
sex/sexual discrimination (also gender discrimination formal)
She claimed she’d been the victim of sex discrimination.
age discrimination
Age discrimination disadvantages older workers.
religious discrimination
There must be an end to religious discrimination.
job/employment discrimination (=not giving someone a job because of their race, sex etc)
Progress has been made in eliminating job discrimination.
workplace discrimination (=at the place where people work)
The new law aims to bring an end to workplace discrimination.
unlawful discrimination (=not allowed by law)
The European Court of Justice decided that she had been the subject of unlawful discrimination.
experience/face discrimination
Government figures suggest that ethnic minorities face discrimination looking for jobs.
end/outlaw discrimination
The purpose of the law is to end discrimination in the workplace.
a victim of discrimination (=someone who has experienced discrimination)
Victims of discrimination have the right to make a complaint.
discrimination on the grounds/basis of something
Discrimination on the grounds of nationality is prohibited.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

discrimination
noun
BAD: It is time that sexual discrimination on women was eliminated.
GOOD: It is time that sexual discrimination against women was eliminated.

Usage Note:
discrimination against a group of people (NOT on/about/for etc): 'Feminist groups see this practice as a form of discrimination against women.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

prejudice an unreasonable dislike and distrust of people who are different from you in some way, especially because of their race, sex, religion etc:
racial prejudice
prejudice against women
discrimination the practice of treating one group of people differently from another in an unfair way:
There is widespread discrimination against older people.
the laws on sex discrimination
intolerance an unreasonable refusal to accept beliefs, customs, and ways of thinking that are different from your own:
religious intolerance
There is an atmosphere of intolerance in the media.
bigotry a completely unreasonable hatred for people of a different race, religion etc, based on strong and fixed opinions:
religious bigotry
the bigotry directed at Jews and other ethnic groups
racism/racial prejudice unfair treatment of people because they belong to a different race:
Many black people have been the victims of racism in Britain.
Some immigrant groups faced racism, for example Jews and Italians, while others, such as Scandinavians, did not.
sexism the belief that one sex, especially women, is weaker, less intelligent etc than the other, especially when this results in someone being treated unfairly:
sexism in language
She accused him of sexism.
ageism (also agism American English) unfair treatment of people because they are old:
The new law aims to stop ageism in the workplace.
homophobia prejudice towards or hatred of gay people:
homophobia in the armed forces
xenophobia /ˌzenəˈfəʊbiə $ -ˈfoʊ-/ hatred and fear of foreigners:
the xenophobia of the right-wing press
anti-Semitism a strong feeling of hatred toward Jewish people:
Is anti-Semitism on the increase?
Islamophobia hatred and fear of Muslims:
the rise of Islamophobia and right-wing extremism in Europe
gay/union/America etc bashing unfair public criticism of gay people, union members, the American government etc:
The minister was accused of union bashing.
There's so much America-bashing in the liberal press.
racist someone who treats people of other races unfairly or badly:
When he expressed his opinion, he was branded a racist.
bigot someone who has strong unreasonable opinions, especially about race or religion:
a racist bigot
sexist someone, especially a man, who believes that their sex is better, more intelligent, more important etc than the other:
Will the sexists ever support a female President?
harm to have a bad effect on someone or something:
Many women said parenthood harmed their careers.
A little hard work never harmed anyone.
damage to harm something badly. Damage is more serious than harm:
His reputation was damaged and his career was in ruins.
The affair has damaged people’s confidence in the government.
be bad for somebody/something to be likely to harm someone or something:
Too much fatty food is bad for you.
All this rain is bad for business.
be detrimental to something formal to be bad for something:
The new housing development will be detrimental to the character of this small town.
impair formal to harm something, especially someone’s ability to do something or the correct working of a system:
Any amount of alcohol that you drink will impair your ability to drive.
His vision was impaired.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲