secern (redirected from secerns)

se·cern  (s-sûrn)

tr.v. se·cerned, se·cern·ing, se·cerns

To discern as separate; discriminate.

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[Latin scernere, to sever : s-, apart; see s(w)e- in Indo-European roots + cernere, to separate; see krei- in Indo-European roots.]

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se·cernment n.

Thesaurus

Verb

1.

secern - mark as different; "We distinguish several kinds of maple" differentiate, distinguish, secernate, severalise, severalize, tell apart, separate, tell know - be able to distinguish, recognize as being different; "The child knows right from wrong" identify, place - recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something; "She identified the man on the 'wanted' poster" discriminate, know apart - recognize or perceive the difference label - distinguish (an element or atom) by using a radioactive isotope or an isotope of unusual mass for tracing through chemical reactions label - distinguish (as a compound or molecule) by introducing a labeled atom sex - tell the sex (of young chickens) individualise, individualize - make or mark or treat as individual; "The sounds were individualized by sharpness and tone" contrast - put in opposition to show or emphasize differences; "The middle school teacher contrasted her best student's work with that of her weakest student" severalise, severalize - distinguish or separate contradistinguish - distinguish by contrasting qualities decouple, dissociate - regard as unconnected; "you must dissociate these two events!"; "decouple our foreign policy from ideology" demarcate - separate clearly, as if by boundaries discriminate, single out, separate - treat differently on the basis of sex or race stratify - divide society into social classes or castes; "Income distribution often stratifies a society"