discernment

dis·cern·ment  (d-sûrnmnt, -zûrn-)

n.

1. The act or process of exhibiting keen insight and good judgment.

2. Keenness of insight and judgment.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	discernment - the cognitive condition of someone who understands; "he has virtually no understanding of social cause and effect" savvy, understanding, apprehension knowing - a clear and certain mental apprehension comprehension - an ability to understand the meaning or importance of something (or the knowledge acquired as a result); "how you can do that is beyond my comprehension"; "he was famous for his comprehension of American literature" 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; "he has a good grasp of accounting practices" grasping - understanding with difficulty; "the lecture was beyond his most strenuous graspings" hindsight - understanding the nature of an event after it has happened; "hindsight is always better than foresight" brainstorm, brainwave, insight - the clear (and often sudden) understanding of a complex situation realization, realisation, recognition - coming to understand something clearly and distinctly; "a growing realization of the risk involved"; "a sudden recognition of the problem he faced"; "increasing recognition that diabetes frequently coexists with other chronic diseases"
	2.	discernment - 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" appreciation, perceptiveness, taste discrimination, secernment - the cognitive process whereby two or more stimuli are distinguished connoisseurship, vertu, virtu - love of or taste for fine objects of art vogue, style, trend - the popular taste at a given time; "leather is the latest vogue"; "he followed current trends"; "the 1920s had a style of their own" delicacy, discretion - refined taste; tact culture - the tastes in art and manners that are favored by a social group
	3.	discernment - perception of that which is obscure perceptiveness perception - knowledge gained by perceiving; "a man admired for the depth of his perception"
	4.	discernment - the mental ability to understand and discriminate between relations sagaciousness, sagacity, judgement, judgment eye - good discernment (either visually or as if visually); "she has an eye for fresh talent"; "he has an artist's eye" common sense, good sense, gumption, horse sense, mother wit, sense - sound practical judgment; "Common sense is not so common"; "he hasn't got the sense God gave little green apples"; "fortunately she had the good sense to run away" judiciousness - good judgment circumspection, discreetness, discretion, prudence - knowing how to avoid embarrassment or distress; "the servants showed great tact and discretion" indiscreetness, injudiciousness - lacking good judgment sapience, wisdom - ability to apply knowledge or experience or understanding or common sense and insight
	5.	discernment - the trait of judging wisely and objectively; "a man of discernment" discretion wisdom, wiseness - the trait of utilizing knowledge and experience with common sense and insight circumspection, caution - the trait of being circumspect and prudent prudence - discretion in practical affairs