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.
Its bright appearance and dramatic surroundings also reveal how hundreds of millions of years of tectonic activity can transform ancient rock into a distinctive landscape visible from orbit.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Unsworth, who runs Forest Horizons in Adlington, said fly agaric, the distinctive red mushroom with white spots, and blushers had been found in good numbers.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
The Nobel Committee lauded Carson for her distinctive style that mixes classical scholarship, lyric poetry and avant-garde translation, often reimagining ancient Greek mythology and philosophy through a personal, contemporary feminist lens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Director of BBC Sounds Jonathan Wall said they were "reshaping BBC speech audio" in order to "build a strong future for trusted journalism, distinctive storytelling and programmes that bring people together".
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
As I walked up to the low bar, getting ready to mount and swing myself up to the high bar, I was sure I heard my mother’s distinctive Belizean accent: “Make it count, Simone!”
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
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.
