Definitions for: Discernment


[n] the trait of judging wisely and objectively; "a man of discernment"
[n] ability to make good judgments
[n] perception of that which is obscure
[n] delicate discrimination (especially of aesthetic values); "arrogance and lack of taste contributed to his rapid success"; "to ask at that particular time was the ultimate in bad taste"
[n] the cognitive condition of someone who understands; "he has virtually no understanding of social cause and effect"



Webster (1913) Definition: Dis*cern"ment, n. [Cf. F. discernement.]
1. The act of discerning.

2. The power or faculty of the mind by which it distinguishes
one thing from another; power of viewing differences in
objects, and their relations and tendencies; penetrative
and discriminate mental vision; acuteness; sagacity;
insight; as, the errors of youth often proceed from the
want of discernment.

Syn: Judgment; acuteness; discrimination; penetration;
sagacity; insight. -- Discernment, Penetration,
Discrimination. Discernment is keenness and accuracy
of mental vision; penetration is the power of seeing
deeply into a subject in spite of everything that
intercepts the view; discrimination is a capacity of
tracing out minute distinctions and the nicest shades of
thought. A discerning man is not easily misled; one of a
penetrating mind sees a multitude of things which escape
others; a discriminating judgment detects the slightest
differences.

Synonyms: appreciation, apprehension, discretion, judgement, judgment, perceptiveness, sagaciousness, sagacity, savvy, taste, understanding

See Also: brainstorm, brainwave, caution, circumspection, circumspection, common sense, comprehension, connoisseurship, culture, delicacy, discreetness, discretion, discrimination, eye, good sense, grasp, grasping, gumption, hold, horse sense, indiscreetness, injudiciousness, insight, judiciousness, knowing, mother wit, perception, prudence, prudence, realisation, realization, recognition, sapience, secernment, self-knowledge, sense, smattering, style, trend, vertu, virtu, vogue, wisdom, wisdom, wiseness

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