discriminative
discriminative — adjective
- discriminativepositive
- more discriminativecomparative
- most discriminativesuperlative
1. having an unusually keen ability to spot the fine points that set one thing apar
having an unusually keen ability to spot the fine points that set one thing apart from another
Ingrid's discriminative ear caught the slight wrong note that the rest of the choir missed.
collocation: discriminative ear
A discriminative wine taster can name the grape and the valley from a single sip.
Wei's discriminative eye for colour lets her spot shades that look identical to most people.
The chef's discriminative tongue could tell which farm the milk had come from.
Samir's discriminative nose picked out the saffron and cardamom in the busy market air.
- discriminating
more common variant with the same meaning
- discerning
emphasises good judgement and refined taste
- perceptive
broader; noticing things generally, not only fine differences
- undiscriminating
lacking the ability to tell differences apart
- indiscriminate
done without careful selection or distinction
用法筆記
Often used of the senses — ear, eye, palate, nose — rather than general reasoning ability.
2. treating someone unfairly because of their race, gender, age, or other personal
treating someone unfairly because of their race, gender, age, or other personal characteristic
The company's discriminative hiring left qualified women out of every senior role for six years.
collocation: discriminative hiring
Neighbours complained that the landlord used discriminative rules to keep immigrant families away.
Kwame lost the promotion because of a discriminative manager who favoured younger staff.
The court found the school's admissions policy to be discriminative against children with disabilities.
Nadia filed a formal complaint after facing discriminative remarks about her headscarf at work.
- discriminatory
the more common word for this meaning
- prejudiced
emphasises pre-formed bias rather than institutional practice
- biased
less formal; covers both personal and systemic unfairness
- egalitarian
treating all people as equal, especially in policy
用法筆記
Less common than 'discriminatory' for this meaning. Subject is usually an institution, policy, or practice.