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DISCERNMENT
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The trait of judging wisely and objectively
Example:
a man of discernment
Synonyms:
discernment; discretion
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("discernment" is a kind of...):
wisdom; wiseness (the trait of utilizing knowledge and experience with common sense and insight)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "discernment"):
caution; circumspection (the trait of being circumspect and prudent)
prudence (discretion in practical affairs)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The mental ability to understand and discriminate between relations
Synonyms:
discernment; judgement; judgment; sagaciousness; sagacity
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("discernment" is a kind of...):
sapience; wisdom (ability to apply knowledge or experience or understanding or common sense and insight)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "discernment"):
eye (good discernment (either visually or as if visually))
common sense; good sense; gumption; horse sense; mother wit; sense (sound practical judgment)
judiciousness (good judgment)
circumspection; discreetness; discretion; prudence (knowing how to avoid embarrassment or distress)
indiscreetness; injudiciousness (lacking good judgment)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Perception of that which is obscure
Synonyms:
discernment; perceptiveness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("discernment" is a kind of...):
perception (knowledge gained by perceiving)
Derivation:
discern (detect with the senses)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Delicate discrimination (especially of aesthetic values)
Example:
to ask at that particular time was the ultimate in bad taste
Synonyms:
appreciation; discernment; perceptiveness; taste
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("discernment" is a kind of...):
discrimination; secernment (the cognitive process whereby two or more stimuli are distinguished)
Attribute:
tasteful (having or showing or conforming to good taste)
tasteless (lacking aesthetic or social taste)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "discernment"):
culture (the tastes in art and manners that are favored by a social group)
delicacy; discretion (refined taste; tact)
style; trend; vogue (the popular taste at a given time)
connoisseurship; vertu; virtu (love of or taste for fine objects of art)
Sense 5
Meaning:
The cognitive condition of someone who understands
Example:
he has virtually no understanding of social cause and effect
Synonyms:
apprehension; discernment; savvy; understanding
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("discernment" is a kind of...):
knowing (a clear and certain mental apprehension)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "discernment"):
comprehension (an ability to understand the meaning or importance of something (or the knowledge acquired as a result))
self-knowledge (an understanding of yourself and your goals and abilities)
smattering (a slight or superficial understanding of a subject)
appreciation; grasp; hold (understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or magnitude of something)
grasping (understanding with difficulty)
hindsight (understanding the nature of an event after it has happened)
brainstorm; brainwave; insight (the clear (and often sudden) understanding of a complex situation)
realisation; realization; recognition (coming to understand something clearly and distinctly)
Context examples:
He answered me with the utmost civility, and even paid me the compliment of saying that he was so well convinced of Lady Catherine's discernment as to be certain she could never bestow a favour unworthily.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
Catherine, delighted at so happy an escape, spoke her pleasure aloud with grateful surprise; and her companion immediately made the matter perfectly simple by assuring her that it was entirely owing to the peculiarly judicious manner in which he had then held the reins, and the singular discernment and dexterity with which he had directed his whip.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
She was remarkably quick in the discovery of attachments, and had enjoyed the advantage of raising the blushes and the vanity of many a young lady by insinuations of her power over such a young man; and this kind of discernment enabled her soon after her arrival at Barton decisively to pronounce that Colonel Brandon was very much in love with Marianne Dashwood.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
And then he would have changed the subject, and sipped his coffee in peace over domestic matters of a calmer hue; but Mr. Yates, without discernment to catch Sir Thomas's meaning, or diffidence, or delicacy, or discretion enough to allow him to lead the discourse while he mingled among the others with the least obtrusiveness himself, would keep him on the topic of the theatre, would torment him with questions and remarks relative to it, and finally would make him hear the whole history of his disappointment at Ecclesford.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
As a general reflection on Fanny, Sir Thomas thought nothing could be more unjust, though he had been so lately expressing the same sentiments himself, and he tried to turn the conversation: tried repeatedly before he could succeed; for Mrs. Norris had not discernment enough to perceive, either now, or at any other time, to what degree he thought well of his niece, or how very far he was from wishing to have his own children's merits set off by the depreciation of hers.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
