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Baffle vs Discriminate - What's the difference?

baffle | discriminate |

In lang=en terms the difference between baffle and discriminate

is that baffle is to struggle in vain while discriminate is to set apart as being different; to mark as different; to separate from another by discerning differences; to distinguish.

As verbs the difference between baffle and discriminate

is that baffle is (obsolete) to publicly disgrace, especially of a recreant knight while discriminate is to make distinctions.

As a noun baffle

is a device used to dampen the effects of such things as sound, light, or fluid specifically, a baffle is a surface which is placed inside an open area to inhibit direct motion from one part to another, without preventing motion altogether.

As an adjective discriminate is

having the difference marked; distinguished by certain tokens.

baffle

English

Verb

(baffl)
  • (obsolete) To publicly disgrace, especially of a recreant knight.
  • * 1596 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , VI.7:
    • He by the heeles him hung upon a tree, / And baffuld so, that all which passed by / The picture of his punishment might see […].
  • (obsolete) To hoodwink or deceive (someone).
    • (Barrow)
  • To bewilder completely; to confuse or perplex.
    • I am baffled by the contradictions and omissions in the instructions.
  • * Prescott
    • calculations so difficult as to have baffled , until within a recent period, the most enlightened nations
  • * John Locke
    • The mere intricacy of a question should not baffle us.
  • * Cowper
    • the art that baffles time's tyrannic claim
  • * South
    • a suitable scripture ready to repel and baffle them all
  • To struggle in vain.
    • A ship baffles with the winds.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A device used to dampen the effects of such things as sound, light, or fluid. Specifically, a baffle is a surface which is placed inside an open area to inhibit direct motion from one part to another, without preventing motion altogether.
    • Tanker trucks use baffles to keep the liquids inside from sloshing around.
  • An architectural feature designed to confuse enemies or make them vulnerable.

    • discriminate

    English

    Verb

    (en-verb)
  • To make distinctions.
    • Since he was colorblind he was unable to discriminate between the blue and green bottles.
  • To make decisions based on prejudice.
    • The law prohibits discriminating against people based on their skin color.
  • To set apart as being different; to mark as different; to separate from another by discerning differences; to distinguish.
    • (Cowper)
  • * Barrow
    • To discriminate the goats from the sheep.

    Usage notes

    Due to the strong pejorative connotations of sense of “decide based on prejudice”, care should be taken in using the term in the sense “distinguish, make distinctions”, and this sense is primarily used in formal discourse; synonyms are generally used instead.

    Synonyms

    (make distinctions) * distinguish * differentiate

    Derived terms

    * discriminative * discriminatory

    Related terms

    * discriminant * discrimination * indiscriminate

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Having the difference marked; distinguished by certain tokens.
    • (Francis Bacon)

    External links

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