What does discriminated mean?
"Discriminated" is the past tense and past participle of the verb "discriminate," which today chiefly means having treated a person or group unfairly by singling them out for adverse treatment on grounds such as race, sex, religion, age, or disability. It appears constantly in legal, journalistic, and everyday contexts, nearly always paired with the preposition "against," as in "she was discriminated against at work." The word carries strongly negative connotations, implying prejudice rather than legitimate distinction. Yet its history is more curious: it derives from the Latin discriminare, "to divide or distinguish," and for centuries English used it as a term of praise for refined perception — a connoisseur who "discriminated" between good wines showed admirable judgment. That neutral sense lingers only in formal writing and in the related adjective "discriminating." Understanding this shift illuminates how words can migrate from compliment to censure while retaining their core idea: drawing distinctions between things or people.
verbPast tense and past participle of "discriminate": to treat a person or group unfairly or prejudicially on the basis of characteristics such as race, gender, age, or religion; or, in an older neutral sense, to recognize and distinguish fine differences between things.
- To have treated a person or group unjustly by making unfair distinctions based on characteristics such as race, sex, age, religion, or disability.
- (Older or formal use) To have perceived or made careful distinctions between different things; to have shown good judgment in telling things apart.
"The court found that the company had systematically discriminated against older applicants during hiring."
"She sued her employer after discovering she had been discriminated against when promotions were handed out."
"In his early writings, the critic discriminated carefully between genuine innovation and mere novelty."
The same word that once praised a refined palate for wine now condemns injustice — "discriminated" did a complete moral U-turn over three centuries.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of discriminated
"Discriminated" traces back through the English verb "discriminate" to the Latin discriminare, meaning "to divide or set apart," itself formed from discrimen, "a dividing point or distinction." The ultimate source is the Latin verb cernere, "to sift or decide," which also gave English such cognates as "discern," "discretion," "concern," and "secret." The verb entered English in the early 17th century with the neutral meaning of distinguishing differences, and only later acquired its dominant modern sense of unjust treatment.
Related word forms
How discriminated is actually used
Today the word is overwhelmingly used in its negative legal and social sense, almost always followed by "against" (or less often "in favor of"). The neutral, positive sense of exercising keen judgment survives mainly in formal or dated prose and in phrases like "a discriminating palate." In legal contexts, being discriminated against typically refers to conduct prohibited by anti-discrimination law.
Easily confused with discriminated
"Differentiated" neutrally means distinguishing or making distinct, while "discriminated" most often carries the negative sense of treating someone unfairly.