Discerning
[dɪ'sɜːnɪŋ] or [dɪ'sɝnɪŋ]
Definition
(adj.) having or revealing keen insight and good judgment; 'a discerning critic'; 'a discerning reader' .
(adj.) able to make or detect effects of great subtlety; sensitive; 'discerning taste'; 'a discerning eye for color' .
(adj.) unobtrusively perceptive and sympathetic; 'a discerning editor'; 'a discreet silence' .
Inputed by Giles--From WordNet
Definition
(p. pr. & vb. n.) of Discern
(a.) Acute; shrewd; sagacious; sharp-sighted.
Inputed by Elvira
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. Discriminating, knowing, sagacious, perspicacious, judicious, acute, intelligent, ingenious, clear-headed, clear-sighted, keen-sighted, quick-sighted, eagle-eyed, hawk-eyed, Argus-eyed.
Inputed by Angela
Examples
- He had a quick eye at discerning character, and was struck by a remark which Mr. Thornton made at dinner-time. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- On the other hand, the Secretary was discerning, discreet, and silent, though as zealous as if the affairs had been his own. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- If I could have been habitually imposed upon, instead of habitually discerning the truth, I might have lived as smoothly as most fools do. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- The maxims which his discerning mind has formed apply to innumerable cases and characters. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- So easily pleasedso little discerning;what signified her praise? Jane Austen. Emma.
- A glass of fine wine was likewise tasted, with discerning though most decorous relish. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- But not when he tells any ugly-looking truth about _you_, said discerning consciousness. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Being blessed with a wise and discerning mother, his aspirations were encouraged; and he was allowed a corner in her cellar. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
Inputed by Angela