discrimination
/dɪˌskɹɪm.əˈneɪʃən/noun
discrimination is spelled D-I-S-C-R-I-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N. The wrong spelling people search most is descrimination: about 90 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 46 of all searches for the word. Discrimination is a noun meaning “Discernment, the act of discriminating, discerning, distinguishing, noting or perceiving differences between…”. The plural of discrimination is discriminations.
How many letters and syllables are in discrimination?
| Letters | 14: D-I-S-C-R-I-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 20 times per million words; the 4,224th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, descrimination, about 90 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell discrimination?
Discrimination is spelled D-I-S-C-R-I-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 42 of the searches for discrimination in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is discrimination?
Discrimination appears 20 times per million words in written English, the 4,224th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce discrimination?
- UK /dɪskɹɪmɪˈneɪʃən/
- US /dɪˌskɹɪm.əˈneɪʃən/
- Australia /dɪskɹɪm.əˈnæɪʃən/
Discrimination has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-discrimination.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with discrimination?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as discrimination from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃən/):
- situation
- association
- population
- administration
- operation
- organization
- application
- location
- generation
- foundation
- conversation
- investigation
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of discrimination
- discriminations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does discrimination mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Discernment, the act of discriminating, discerning, distinguishing, noting or perceiving differences between things, with the intent to understand rightly and make correct decisions.
- 2
Differential treatment of an individual or group to their disadvantage; treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit; partiality; prejudice; bigotry.
sexual or racial discrimination
- 3
The quality of being discriminating; acute discernment, especially in matters of good taste.
Near-synonym: tastefulness
- 4
obsoleteThat which discriminates; a distinguishing mark, a characteristic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Discrimination in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | discrimination |
| German | Diskriminierung, Unterscheidung , Schlechterstellung |
| Portuguese | discriminação |
| Spanish | discriminación, discrimen |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does discrimination come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin discrīminātiō, discrīminātiōnem, the action noun to discrīminō, discrīmināre (“distinguish”). Equivalent to discriminate + -ion. In English use from the 17th century.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).