Word for to have the same thing become different [closed]

I know there is word "discriminate" meaning to constitute the difference, but it's usually used in negative sense. So what are the neutral and positive words?


You could use "to differentiate (between)" or "to distinguish."


Discriminate, on its own, is completely neutral:

[Merriam-Webster]
transitive verb
1 a : to mark or perceive the distinguishing or peculiar features of
// Depth perception may be defined as the ability to appreciate or discriminate the third dimension …
— H. G. Armstrong
1 b : DISTINGUISH, DIFFERENTIATE
// discriminate hundreds of colors
2 : to distinguish by discerning or exposing differences : to recognize or identify as separate and distinct
// discriminate right from wrong
especially : to distinguish from another like object
// discriminate the individual voices in the choir

It's only when you use it in combination with another word, normally when using its intransitive verb form, that it can be taken in a normative sense—but that sense can be positive just as easily as negative:

intransitive verb
1 a : to make a distinction
// discriminate among historical sources
// discriminates between literary fiction and popular fiction
1 b : to use good judgment
2 : to make a difference in treatment or favor on a basis other than individual merit
// discriminate in favor of your friends
// discriminate against a certain nationality

Note the final examples of discriminate in favour of and discriminate against. It's the context and words that follow discriminate that can give it a negative sense—not discriminate itself.

Another use of it is in an adjectival sense where people can say that somebody has discriminating taste—and that's used as a positive compliment.