ˌæpɹɪˈhɛnsɪv dɪˈsɜːn.iŋ dɪˈsɝn.iŋ dɪˈskɹiːt having or revealing keen insight and good judgment a discerning critic a discerning reader able to make or detect effects of great subtlety; sensitive discerning taste a discerning eye for color quick to understand a kind and apprehensive friend unobtrusively perceptive and sympathetic a discerning editor a discreet silence