distinctive
Americanadjective
-
serving to distinguish; characteristic; distinguishing.
the distinctive stripes of the zebra.
- Synonyms:
- individual
-
having a special quality, style, attractiveness, etc.; notable.
adjective
-
serving or tending to distinguish
-
denoting one of a set of minimal features of a phoneme in a given language that serve to distinguish it from other phonemes. The distinctive features of /p/ in English are that it is voiceless, bilabial, non-nasal, and plosive; /b/ is voiced, bilabial, non-nasal, and plosive: the two differ by the distinctive feature of voice
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of distinctive
First recorded in 1575–85; from Medieval Latin distinctīvus; equivalent to distinct + -ive
Explanation
Her big eyes and plump lips are distinctive features that make her a great model. These are just some of the special features that distinguish her. You might recognize the Latin prefix dis in the adjective distinctive. Dis often means "apart" or "away." Think of this when trying to remember the word distinctive. Someone with distinctive features has features that set them "apart" from others. Yes, its stepped-back architecture and distinctive spire are among the Empire State Building's distinctive features, but its most distinctive feature has to be its height: for decades there wasn't another building in New York that came close!
Vocabulary lists containing distinctive
The Giver
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Walk Two Moons
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The Breadwinner
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This he found in New Hope, Pa., where he settled after his early release in 1943 and immediately began making his distinctive furniture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2026
“While the existing residence carries undeniable charm, character, and a joyful spirit that mirrors Simmons’ distinctive personality, the true value lies in the land itself,” she says.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026
This distinctive chiral response was precisely the kind of signal expected from altermagnetism and would not be present in a conventional antiferromagnet.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026
Experienced politicians with thousands of hours of shaking hands and speaking at community functions under their belts, they each have a distinctive approach to the job.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
In theory, a detective in Cincinnati could telegraph a few distinctive numbers to investigators in New York with the expectation that if a match existed, New York would find it.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
