Relating to or involving discrimination; pertaining to the act or practice of making distinctions or unfair treatment.
From discrimination (noun) plus -al suffix. The noun discrimination developed from the verb discriminate around the 15th-16th centuries.
Laws use the term 'discriminational' to describe practices, but 'discriminatory' is more common in modern English—language gradually standardizes which forms we prefer.
The adjectival form emerged primarily in legal and social justice contexts post-1960s, embedding prejudicial connotations.
Use 'differential,' 'comparative,' or 'distinctive' when discussing neutral categorization.
["differential","comparative","distinctive","differentiating"]
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