distinctive feature

American  

noun

Linguistics.

1. a feature of the sound system of a language that serves as the crucial distinguishing mark between two phonemes, as the distinctive feature of voicing, which distinguishes b from p in English, or nasality, which distinguishes m from b and p.

2. any of a set of phonetic properties, as coronal, nasal, or strident, serving as a basic unit of phonological analysis by which the sounds that are significant in a language can be characterized and distinguished from one another.

3. a component or phonetic feature characterizing a phoneme.

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Etymology

Origin of distinctive feature

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

The figures’ long, elegant fingers are a distinctive feature of Bohemian Gothic art, as are the tight blond curls framing the round faces of Mary, Jesus and the angel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025

Judge Capstick said a distinctive feature belonging to the teenager could be matched to the figure shown on the footage.

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2025

It’s not just the modern period, and that’s a distinctive feature of our culture.

From Slate • May 8, 2024

All five isolates exhibited a distinctive feature of Minorisa, a single flagellum coiled spirally around the cell.

From Science Daily • Oct. 26, 2023

“Some distinctive feature is needed,” Burnham continued, “something to take the relative position in the World’s Columbian Exposition that was filled by the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Exposition.”

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson