4 uses
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Definition
to notice or understand something — often something that is not obvious
- The secret passageway was dark; yet I could discern the scurrying of spiders.p. 525.8
- From what nonsense did Owen Meany discern what he would later call a PATTERN?p. 105.6
- I was so upset that I blurted it all out to Dan, who was hanging around the altar area with Mr. Fish, who, in turn, was staring at the scattered hay in the manger and at the few gifts abandoned by the Christ Child there, as if some meaning could be discerned from the arrangement of the debris.p. 234.3
- Owen watched the whole movie; during the commercials, he turned his detached attention to the window that overlooked the rose garden, where Hester's . pale figure could be discerned in the ghostly glow of the moonlight against the snow.p. 364.6
There are no more uses of "discern" in A Prayer for Owen Meany.
Typical Usage
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