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.
Or that, of MLB’s 30 current stadiums, few mimic its style, match its history or offer an equally distinct feel.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 14, 2022
No two matches of ‘Squadrons’ are exactly the same Within each faction, the classes all have a distinct feel.
From The Verge • Oct. 9, 2020
Nowhere in the official billing for this event did the word "hustings" appear, but it had the distinct feel of just that.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2019
The first season of “Lady Dynamite” drops late tonight on Netflix, and has the distinct feel of “Arrested Development”’s meta-brilliance and surreal humor.
From Salon • May 19, 2016
The silhouettes at times had a distinct feel of Christian Dior's 1950s looks - this generating, on more than one occasion, shocked gasps from fashionistas.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 3, 2012
Definitions 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.
