distinctive

American  

[dih-stingk-tiv] / dɪˈstɪŋk tɪv /

adjective

1. serving to distinguish; characteristic; distinguishing: distinguishing.

   the distinctive stripes of the zebra.

   Synonyms:

   individual

2. having a special quality, style, attractiveness, etc.; notable.

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distinctive British  

/ dɪˈstɪŋktɪv /

adjective

1. serving or tending to distinguish

2. 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

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Other Word Forms

• distinctively adverb
• distinctiveness noun
• subdistinctive adjective
• subdistinctively adverb
• subdistinctiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of distinctive

First recorded in 1575–85; from Medieval Latin distinctīvus; equivalent to distinct + -ive

Example Sentences

Lucy Haine, chair of the Soho Society, which has campaigned to protect the distinctive character of the area, is backing "the fight to keep this iconic London restaurant open and trading for future generations".

From BBC

In the 1940s, Lam developed his own distinctive, hybrid figures, pictographic language and pictorial style.

From The Wall Street Journal

Their distinctive traits include an intense connection to music - and they are often heard playing harps or singing tunes that are "hypnotically beautiful but impossible to remember".

From BBC

The researchers focused on front footprints, which consistently provided the clearest and most distinctive features.

From Science Daily

The paper also presents the most recent spectroscopic analysis, reporting evidence for distinctive helium absorption features in the spectrum of JADES-GS-13-0.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• cool
• extraordinary
• idiosyncratic
• offbeat
• original
• peculiar
• singular
• special
• weird