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

Often dwarfed by architecture, their distinctive bodies in space are more important than the sparse dialogue that only serves to fill in crucial gaps in storytelling.

From Los Angeles Times

The team identified another distinctive chemical fossil in the same Precambrian rocks that is highly likely to have come from living organisms rather than from chemistry alone.

From Science Daily

Social media easily introduces shoppers to styles and brands, a service once distinctive to department stores like Bloomingdale’s.

From The Wall Street Journal

At other times, she has mirrored her father's distinctive style, wearing matching leather jackets and dark glasses.

From Barron's

Still, he said, “We want to be distinctive, urgent, must-read with every chance we have.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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