discern
verb [T] /dɪˈsɜːn/
/-ˈsɝːn/ formalDefinition
› to see, recognize, or understand something that is not clear: I could just discern a figure in the darkness. It is difficult to discern any pattern in these figures.Using the eyesEyesight, glasses and lensesThe eye and surrounding areaPerceptiveUnderstanding and comprehending
(Definition of discern verb from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
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You are looking at an entry to do with Understanding and comprehending, but you might be interested in these topics from the Using the mind topic area:
- Analysing and evaluating
- Aware
- Believable
- Believing
- Changing your mind
- Concluding and deducing
- Continually thinking about
- Decisions and deciding
- Deep in thought
- Difficult to understand
- Dreaming
- Easy to understand
- Empathy and sensitivity
- Experienced
- Experts and specialists
- Expressing and asking opinions
- Forgetting and forgetfulness
- Guesses and assumptions
- Guessing, supposing and suspecting
- Ideas, concepts and theories
- Imagining and conceiving
- Inability and awkwardness
- Inexperienced (of people)
- Inexperienced people and lack of experience
- Inspiration and inspiring
- Intelligence
- Intelligent people
- Judgments and analyses
- Knowledge and awareness
- Logic and reason
- Memory and memories
- Mind and personality
- Misunderstanding
- Not believable
- Not believing
- Not expected or planned
- Opinions, beliefs and points of view
- People who analyse and judge
- People who make predictions
- Philosophy
- Planning, expecting and arranging
- Plans and arrangements
- Predicting things and intuition
- Remembering, reminding and reminders
- Skill, talent and ability
- Skilled, talented and able
- Solving and solutions
- Stupid and silly
- Stupid and silly behaviour
- Stupid and silly people
- Testing, checking and experimenting
- Thinking and contemplating
- Trusting and not trusting
- Unaware
- Wise and sensible
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Synonyms and related words:
- appreciate verb (VALUE)
- appreciation noun (VALUE)
- apprehend verb (UNDERSTAND)
- apprehension noun (UNDERSTANDING)
- at your fingertips idiom
- bear in on/upon phrasal verb
- catch on phrasal verb (UNDERSTAND)
- dig verb (APPROVE)
- drift noun (MEANING)
- hit home idiom
- keep up phrasal verb
- know the score idiom
- know/see where sb is coming from idiom
- latch on phrasal verb
- the penny drops idiom
- the scales fall from sb's eyes idiom
- tumble to sth phrasal verb
- tune in phrasal verb (UNDERSTANDING)
- tune noun (UNDERSTANDING)
- wake up to sth phrasal verb
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