discriminate

Related to discriminate: discriminate against

discriminate against (someone or something)

To impose limitations on a particular person or group for prejudicial reasons. Those who continue to discriminate against people of color will continue to meet resistance from those who believe in equality.
See also: discriminate

discriminate between (someone or something)

To recognize the differences between people or things. I have a hard time discriminating between Jim and Greg, but they are identical twins after all. You can discriminate between hydrangea and phlox by looking at their leaves.
See also: between, discriminate
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

discriminate against someone or something

to single out a type of person or thing for special negative treatment or denial of equal treatment; to act in a prejudicial manner against someone or something. This law discriminates against short people. You discriminate against people in wheelchairs.
See also: discriminate

discriminate between

someone and someone else or something and something else to distinguish between people or between things. I find it hard these days to discriminate between my friends and my enemies. Can you discriminate between this shade of pink and that one?
See also: between, discriminate
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • discriminate against
  • discriminate against (someone or something)
  • discriminating
  • drag out
  • dragged out
  • march on
  • keep it up
  • Keep it up!
  • keep up
  • grandfather (someone or something)
References in periodicals archive
We develop a web server, WCTDS, for public users to easily discriminate their cell type samples.
"A clear message has been sent out by this decision - blanket discrimination in employment policies and practices on grounds of religion or belief is simply unacceptable, and that an instruction to discriminate against someone on the basis of that person's religion or belief will be unlawful."
Discriminate against you, in certain circumstances, after the working relationship has ended.
The bishop added, "I am naturally disappointed that the tribunal decided that I did discriminate against Mr Reaney but it dismissed the other complaints that he made."
However, a plan will not be reviewed regarding whether it discriminates on the basis of age if it was converted to a cash balance plan before June 30, 2005.
The melting curve analysis described here provides a rapid, accurate, and high-throughput approach to discriminate between HPAI and LPAI.
* Ohio's statute does not discriminate on its face but rather is freely available to any corporation engaging in the prescribed activities in Ohio.
A state statute satisfies the clause if (1) the activity taxed has substantial nexus with the taxing state; (2) the tax is fairly apportioned to reflect the degree of activity within the state; (3) the tax does not discriminate against interstate commerce; and (4) the tax is fairly related to benefits provided by the state.
1053) that would make it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of genetic information has been approved by the Senate and has been referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
* Affiliation -- Employers cannot harass or discriminate against an individual because he or she is affiliated with some religious or ethnic group.
ACLJ senior litigation counsel Waiter Weber described the Ninth Circuit's decision as a "significant step in the ongoing struggle for equal rights for speakers with a religious message," since it signals school districts that they "cannot legally discriminate against the type of literature distributed at schools simply because that literature promotes an event that includes religious speech."
The equal protection and free exercise clauses, as suggested above, generally prohibit laws that discriminate on the basis of religion or that discriminate against a particular religion.
Yet we fail to see that we often discriminate against those things we fear most.
Title VII made it unlawful to discriminate against "any individual" on the ground of race, and it took nearly a decade and a half for the Supreme Court to perform the legal legerdemain necessary to reconcile racial preferences for blacks with this clear prohibition against affirmative action.
Questions: What would happen if "discriminate" were replaced by "appreciate?" What term best describes your school or district: melting pot or mosaic--and what is the difference?