All 4 Uses of
discern
in
The Lords of Discipline
- Sir, vomit is a putrescent liquid of a greenish yellow color often projected from the noble stomachs of dauntless upperclassmen when they discern the nauseous, repulsive, and monstrously assembled faces of plebes such as Will McLean, sir.†
Chpt 2.18discern = notice or understand something
- Then we were lifted out of our chairs as if an indiscernible cadre had begun barking orders, and I found myself walking with the Corps, the entire Corps, moving without cadence and in silence, with an awesome, unspeakable purpose.†
Chpt 3.28indiscernible = impossible or difficult to notice or understandstandard prefix: The prefix "in-" in indiscernible means not and reverses the meaning of discernible. This is the same pattern you see in words like invisible, incomplete, and insecure.
- I could see this child clearly; it had no discernible sex, but it was a blond and airy thing, a sea-child who stood knee-deep in the surf and laughed at the flight of pelicans and the sprints of sandcrabs to their lairs.†
Chpt 3.29 *discernible = possible to notice or understand
- I noticed the long, ugly, centipede-shaped scar incised into his left shoulder and knew I had discerned the identity of a second member of The Ten: my friend and fellow athlete Cain Gilbreath.†
Chpt 4.38discerned = noticed something that is not obvious
Definition:
to notice or understand something -- often something that is not obvious