Undiscriminating

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Showing little or no distinction or differentiation between things; lacking the ability or intention to make careful or selective choices; acting without judgment or preference
2. Failing to perceive or recognize differences among items or people; being indiscriminate or nonselective in behavior or attitudes; treating all with equal disregard to individual qualities
3. Characterized by an absence of discrimination or selective consideration; applying one standard or approach universally without distinction; demonstrating impartiality by overlooking differentiating factors

Etymology: "Undiscriminating" is a plain formation: the prefix "un-", meaning "not," attached to "discriminating," the adjective built from "discriminate." The prefix comes down from Old English, where "un-" was already a productive way to reverse or negate a quality, and English has long been able to add it to adjectives of almost any shape. The base word tells the rest of the story. "Discriminate" comes from the Latin "discriminare," meaning "to separate" or "to distinguish between," and its older sense was neutral, referring to the act of telling one thing from another. The "discriminating" that means having fine taste or good judgment inherited that positive sense, so a discriminating palate is one that can tell subtle flavours apart. The negated form therefore names the absence of that fine sorting: a person or process that fails to separate one thing from another, treating everything as the same.

Synonyms: unselective, indiscriminate, impartial, uncritical

Antonyms: discriminating, selective, critical