distinguish
Americanverb (used with object)
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to mark off as different (often followed by from orby ).
He was distinguished from the other boys by his height.
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to recognize as distinct or different; recognize the salient or individual features or characteristics of.
It is hard to distinguish her from her twin sister.
- Antonyms:
- confuse
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to perceive clearly by sight or other sense; discern; recognize.
He could not distinguish many of the words.
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to set apart as different; be a distinctive characteristic of; characterize.
It is his Italian accent that distinguishes him.
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to make prominent, conspicuous, or eminent.
to distinguish oneself in battle.
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to divide into classes; classify.
Let us distinguish the various types of metaphor.
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Archaic. to single out for or honor with special attention.
verb (used without object)
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to indicate or show a difference (usually followed bybetween ).
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to recognize or note differences; discriminate.
verb
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to make, show, or recognize a difference or differences (between or among); differentiate (between)
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to be a distinctive feature of; characterize
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to make out; perceive
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to mark for a special honour or title
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to make (oneself) noteworthy
he distinguished himself by his cowardice
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to classify; categorize
we distinguished three species
Synonym Usage
Distinguish, differentiate, discriminate suggest an attempt to analyze characteristic features or qualities of things. To distinguish is to recognize the characteristic features belonging to a thing: to distinguish a light cruiser from a heavy cruiser. To discriminate is to perceive the particular, nice, or exact differences between things, to determine wherein these differences consist, and to estimate their significance: to discriminate prejudiced from unprejudiced testimony. To differentiate is to point out exactly and in detail the differences between (usually) two things: The symptoms of both diseases are so similar that it is hard to differentiate one from another.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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distinguishernoun
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distinguishmentnoun
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redistinguishverb
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distinguishableadjective
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distinguishingadjective
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distinguishablyadverb
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distinguishinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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distinguishsimple
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distinguishessimple
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have distinguishedperfect
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has distinguishedperfect
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am distinguishingprogressive
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are distinguishingprogressive
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is distinguishingprogressive
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have been distinguishingperfect progressive
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has been distinguishingperfect progressive
Past
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distinguishedsimple
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had distinguishedperfect
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was distinguishingprogressive
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were distinguishingprogressive
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had been distinguishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of distinguish
First recorded in 1555–65; extension, by -ish 2, of Middle English disting(u)en (from Anglo-French, Middle French distinguer ), from Latin distinguere; see distinct
Explanation
To distinguish means to tell apart. If you win the lottery, you’re going to need to learn to distinguish between people who really like you and people who like your money. To distinguish is to discern, which means to perceive or recognize the way something differs from what’s around it. It takes discerning taste buds to distinguish between Coke and Pepsi. Distinguish also means to separate yourself out from the pack, usually in a good way. You might distinguish yourself at a Comics Convention with your encyclopedic knowledge of Krazy Kat.
Vocabulary lists containing distinguish
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Vocabulary of the Common Core
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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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.
Weather became a way to distinguish Elle from those around her in Seattle.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 3, 2026
Instead, the findings suggest that these hunger-related neurons can distinguish between different sugars and respond through separate biological pathways.
From Science Daily • Jun. 26, 2026
Raves have become entwined with D&B’s push to boost its numbers, a way the company is trying to distinguish itself in the ubercompetitive “eatertainment” landscape that it helped create.
From Slate • Jun. 25, 2026
Though it is a newer face in the industry—operating in the shadow of pioneers like Boston Dynamics, which has a two-decade head start—Agility can distinguish itself through the backing of high-profile clients.
From Barron's • Jun. 24, 2026
Over time, primitive languages evolved to distinguish between one, two, and many, and eventually one, two, three, many, but didn’t have terms for higher numbers.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
