discriminating

UK/dɪsˈkɹɪmɪneɪtɪŋ(ɡ)/

adjectiveC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #10,622 of 15,258leans written

Discriminating means showing fine judgement in taste. A discriminating palate, a discriminating reader, discriminating taste.

It is a compliment and it means telling fine differences apart, which is the original sense of discriminate. The word has been overshadowed by the sense about unfair treatment, and the two now pull in opposite directions — one is praise and the other is an accusation. Note discernment, which is safer.

Definitions of discriminating

1adjectivediscriminatingShowing fine judgement in taste.C1
“The shop sells fine wines to discriminating customers who know exactly what they want.”
synonyms: discerning, particular

discriminating is a quality of judgement.

Practised in A Song of Ice and Fire

Practise this word

discriminating in the wild

Family courts have been accused of sentencing disparity both discriminating against women and discriminating against men.
Family court
The three women brought claims against Safeway for discriminating on the basis of pregnancy for discrimination based on sex.
Brooks v Canada Safeway Ltd
The court held unanimously that the insurance policy was discriminating against pregnant women.
Brooks v Canada Safeway Ltd
After the European Championships, the International Gymnastics Federation suspended six judges for discriminating against a Ukrainian gymnast, Olena Vitrychenko.
2000 European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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