All 14 Uses of
discern
in
The Mill on the Floss
- He was one of those lads that grow everywhere in England, and at twelve or thirteen years of age look as much alike as goslings,—a lad with light-brown hair, cheeks of cream and roses, full lips, indeterminate nose and eyebrows,—a physiognomy in which it seems impossible to discern anything but the generic character to boyhood; as different as possible from poor Maggie's phiz, which Nature seemed to have moulded and colored with the most decided intention.†
Chpt 1.5
- But when she not only failed to discern Maggie, but presently saw Tom returning from the pool alone, this hovering fear entered and took complete possession of her, and she hurried to meet him.†
Chpt 1.10
- But Mr. Stelling took no note of these things; he only observed that Tom's faculties failed him before the abstractions hideously symbolized to him in the pages of the Eton Grammar, and that he was in a state bordering on idiocy with regard to the demonstration that two given triangles must be equal, though he could discern with great promptitude and certainty the fact that they were equal.†
Chpt 2.1
- "No, father," said Tom, speaking with energetic decision, though there was tremor discernible in his voice too, "you will live to see the debts all paid.†
Chpt 5.6
- Soon they merged into mere mutterings; the eyes had ceased to discern; and then came the final silence.†
Chpt 5.7
- Now superficial people never discern that...
Chpt 6.2 *discern = to notice or understand something that is not obvious
- There was a terrible cutting truth in Tom's words,—that hard rind of truth which is discerned by unimaginative, unsympathetic minds.†
Chpt 6.4
- She had fallen asleep before nine, and had been sleeping for six hours before the faintest hint of a midsummer daybreak was discernible.†
Chpt 6.14
- Maggie was half stunned,—too heavily pressed upon by her anguish even to discern any difference between her actual guilt and her brother's accusations, still less to vindicate herself.†
Chpt 7.1
- All people of broad, strong sense have an instinctive repugnance to the men of maxims; because such people early discern that the mysterious complexity of our life is not to be embraced by maxims, and that to lace ourselves up in formulas of that sort is to repress all the divine promptings and inspirations that spring from growing insight and sympathy.†
Chpt 7.2
- But the next moment, without her having discerned the sound of a footstep, she felt a light hand on her shoulder, and heard a voice close to her saying, "Maggie!"†
Chpt 7.4
- But now there was a large dark mass in the distance, and near to her Maggie could discern the current of the river.†
Chpt 7.5
- Swiftly she went now without effort; more and more clearly in the lessening distance and the growing light she began to discern the objects that she knew must be the well-known trees and roofs; nay, she was not far off a rushing, muddy current that must be the strangely altered Ripple.†
Chpt 7.5
- Color was beginning to awake now, and as she approached the Dorlcote fields, she could discern the tints of the trees, could see the old Scotch firs far to the right, and the home chestnuts,—oh, how deep they lay in the water,—deeper than the trees on this side the hill!†
Chpt 7.5
Definition:
-
(discern) to notice or understand something -- often something that is not obvious