undiscerning

undiscerning — adjective

  • undiscerningpositive
  • more undiscerningcomparative
  • most undiscerningsuperlative

1. not having the ability to judge or notice quality, value, or important differenc

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

not having the ability to judge or notice quality, value, or important differences between people or things

Example

Emre bought a cheap fake watch because he was undiscerning about brand quality.

collocation: undiscerning about [topic]

Chiara's undiscerning eye for art led her to pay high prices for low-quality prints.

collocation: undiscerning eye / ear / reader

Common collocations
  • undiscerning about
  • undiscerning eye
  • undiscerning reader
  • undiscerning critic
  • undiscerning tourist
  • undiscerning audience
  • undiscerning public
  • undiscerning taste
Synonyms
  • indiscriminate

    stronger focus on lack of selectivity; often describes actions or choices rather than a person's general ability

  • uncritical

    emphasizes accepting things without questioning or evaluating them

  • undiscriminating

    almost identical in meaning; slightly less common than undiscerning

Antonyms
  • discerning

    the direct opposite — having good judgment and the ability to recognize quality

  • perceptive

    emphasizes quick, accurate understanding rather than visual taste

Usage Note

Frequently used with a noun indicating a person's role (reader, critic, tourist, shopper) to describe someone who fails to recognize quality or value. Preposition about introduces the area where judgment is lacking.

Common Mistakes

He is undiscerning to good wine.
He is undiscerning about good wine.
undiscerning takes the preposition about, not to.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All three words describe a lack of careful evaluation, but they differ in scope and typical use. Undiscerning focuses on an inability to recognize quality or value, often applied to a person's general capacity ('an undiscerning reader,' 'an undiscerning critic'). Indiscriminate emphasizes a lack of selectivity in choices or actions ('indiscriminate spending,' 'indiscriminate killing') — it points to the behavior rather than the person's ability. Uncritical describes someone who accepts things without questioning or examining them ('an uncritical follower of fashion'), so it highlights a failure in judgment through missing analysis rather than missing taste. Undiscriminating is a close synonym of undiscerning but slightly less common; both can describe a person or their choices. For example: 'An undiscerning diner will eat anywhere; an indiscriminate eater will order everything on the menu; an uncritical diner never reads the reviews.'

indiscriminate ↗uncritical ↗undiscriminating ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • of undiscerning taste
  • to the undiscerning eye

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed by adding the negative prefix un- to discerning, which comes from Latin discernere, meaning 'to separate, distinguish' — from dis- ('apart') and cernere ('to sift, separate'). The sense of 'having good judgment in quality' developed in English during the 1500s.