Discern — Defs

01 v. t. To see and identify by noting a difference or differences; to note the distinctive character of; to discriminate; to distinguish.

imp. & p. p. Discerned; p. pr. & vb. n. Discerning

1.
To see and identify by noting a difference or differences; to note the distinctive character of; to discriminate; to distinguish.
“To discern such buds as are fit to produce blossoms.” — Boyle.

“A counterfeit stone which thine eye can not discern from a right stone.” — Robynson (More's Utopia).
2.
To see by the eye or by the understanding; to perceive and recognize; as, to discern a difference.
“And [I] beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding.” — Prov. vii. 7.

“Our unassisted sight . . . is not acute enough to discern the minute texture of visible objects.” — Beattie.

“I wake, and I discern the truth.” — Tennyson.

02 v. i. To see or understand the difference; to make distinction; as, to discern between good and evil, truth and falsehood.

1.
To see or understand the difference; to make distinction; as, to discern between good and evil, truth and falsehood.
“More than sixscore thousand that cannot discern between their right hand their left.” — Jonah iv. 11.
2.
To make cognizance.[Obs.]