# discarding vs discerning

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### discarding
*noun · frequency rank #34,023*
The act by which something is discarded; a throwing away.

### discerning
*verb · IPA /dɪˈsɜː.nɪŋ/ · frequency rank #28,173*
present participle and gerund of discern

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/discarding-vs-discerning