discern
[verb]
Synonyms: see, behold, descry, distinguish, note, notice, observe, perceive, remark, view, know, difference, differentiate, discrepate, discriminate, extricate, separate, sever, severalize

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Related Words: ascertain, discover, anticipate, apprehend, divine, foresee

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English Thesaurus: recognize, identify, distinguish, make something/somebody out, discern, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

di‧scern /dɪˈsɜːn $ -ɜːrn/ verb [transitive not in progressive] formal
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Latin; Origin: discernere 'to separate', from cernere 'to sift']

1. to notice or understand something by thinking about it carefully
discern what/where/why etc
Officials were keen to discern how much public support there was.

2. to be able to see something by looking carefully Synonym : perceive:
We could just discern a town in the distance.
—discernible adjective
—discernibly adverb

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

discern
verb
ADV. clearly, easily She could clearly discern a figure walking up towards the house.
dimly, just
VERB + DISCERN be able to, can/could | be difficult to, be hard to | be possible to

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

recognize to know who someone is or what something is, especially because you have seen or heard them before:
I hadn’t seen her for ten years, but I recognized her immediately.
Do you recognize this song?
identify to recognize someone or something and say who or what they are:
As they came closer, I was able to identify two of the group.
It’s delicious but I can’t quite identify the taste.
distinguish to recognize and understand the difference between two or more things or people:
By this age, kids can usually distinguish between right and wrong.
It’s often difficult to distinguish identical twins from each other.
make something/somebody out to be able to see or hear something or someone – used when it is very difficult to do this:
In the distance, I could just make out the outline of an island.
He whispered something but I couldn’t make out what it was.
discern /dɪˈsɜːn $ -ɜːrn/ formal to notice or understand something by looking carefully or thinking about it carefully:
I thought I discerned a faint gleam of hope in his eyes.
A number of differences can be discerned in the data for the three countries.
know to recognize someone or something. Know is often used in everyday English instead of recognize:
How do you know that it is real gold?
I know him from somewhere.
I can’t remember his name, but I know his face.
can tell to be able to recognize someone or something:
I could tell that it was him by his voice.
Can you tell that it’s not real leather?
It’s difficult to be able to tell them apart (=to recognize that they are different).

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲