Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines prejudice and discrimination as:
(1) : injury or damage resulting from some judgment or action of another in disregard of one's rights; especially : detriment to one's legal rights or claims (2) a. (1) : preconceived judgment or opinion (2) : an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge b : an instance of such judgment or opinion c : an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics.
(1) a. : the act of discriminating b : the process by which two stimuli differing in some aspect are responded to differently (2) : the quality or power of finely distinguishing
(3) a. : the act, practice, or an instance of discriminating categorically rather than individually b : prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment
The main distinction between prejudice and discrimination is found in Michael LeMay's definition of discrimination, where he says "Discrimination is applied prejudice". As in the definition above, prejudice is some preconceived notion about an individual, a group, or a race that demonstrate some sort of judgment upon them. This idea of prejudice is usually kept inside of the individual, so as to have a quiet judgment among people. Discrimination, however, is prejudice put into practice. Those who discriminate actively practice prejudice; it is no longer kept inside, but rather openly practiced against the people. Prejudice is best described as an attitude towards a certain group of peoples based solely on their membership in that social or ethnic group, whereas discrimination are actions taken against those members, the behavioral manifestation of prejudice. The practices of prejudice and...