distinguish

[dih-sting-gwish]

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verb (used with object)

to mark off as different (often followed by from or by): He was distinguished from the other boys by his height.

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.

to perceive clearly by sight or other sense; discern; recognize: He could not distinguish many of the words.

to set apart as different; be a distinctive characteristic of; characterize: It is his Italian accent that distinguishes him.

to make prominent, conspicuous, or eminent: to distinguish oneself in battle.

to divide into classes; classify: Let us distinguish the various types of metaphor.

Archaic. to single out for or honor with special attention.

verb (used without object)

to indicate or show a difference (usually followed by between).

to recognize or note differences; discriminate.

Origin of distinguish

1555–65; extension, by -ish², of Middle English disting(u)en (< Anglo-French, Middle French distinguer) < Latin distinguere; see distinct

Related formsdis·tin·guish·a·ble, adjectivedis·tin·guish·a·ble·ness, dis·tin·guish·a·bil·i·ty, noundis·tin·guish·a·bly, adverbdis·tin·guish·er, noundis·tin·guish·ment, nounin·ter·dis·tin·guish, verb (used with object)non·dis·tin·guish·a·ble, adjectivenon·dis·tin·guish·a·ble·ness, nounnon·dis·tin·guish·a·bly, adverbpre·dis·tin·guish, verb (used with object)re·dis·tin·guish, verbun·dis·tin·guish·a·ble, adjective

Synonym study

2. 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.

Antonyms for distinguish

2. confuse.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for distinguish

discriminate, divide, separate, recognize, characterize, qualify, identify, differentiate, determine, categorize, analyze, know, notice, detect, read, perceive, discover, see, admire, diagnose

Examples from the Web for distinguish

Contemporary Examples of distinguish

The line between being careful about what you eat and being obsessive is difficult to distinguish.
Orthorexia: When Healthy Eating Becomes an Obsession
DailyBurn
October 25, 2014
Food business groups argue that a gram of sugar, natural or added, is a gram of sugar—so why distinguish it?
Guess Who Doesn’t Want You to Know How Much Added Sugar Is in Your Food
Tim Mak
July 19, 2014
Then there was the attempt to distinguish her tax status from those who are “truly well off.”
Hillary’s Doomed if She Can’t Learn to Talk About Her Privilege
Keli Goff
June 27, 2014
Behind-the-scenes technological differences do not distinguish Aereo's system from cable systems, which do perform publicly.
What the Aereo Decision Means for You
Kyle Chayka
June 25, 2014
And how could we distinguish the small exomoon signal from that of its host planet?
Could ‘Star Wars’ Be Right About Habitable Moons?
Matthew R. Francis
May 4, 2014

Historical Examples of distinguish

Through his glasses Kingozi could distinguish rounded foothills.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
And the word was invented to distinguish the laymen from the clergymen.
Samantha Among the Brethren, Part 7.
Josiah Allen's Wife (Marietta Holley)
I now put forth my whole speed, and while thus running could distinguish no sound.
Green Mansions
W. H. Hudson
Without Ithuriel's spear, how can they distinguish the good from the evil?
Tales And Novels, Volume 3 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
The Pigmies are so called to distinguish them from the bulkier Caucasians —who are Hogmies.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce

British Dictionary definitions for distinguish

distinguish

verb (mainly tr)

(when intr, foll by between or among) to make, show, or recognize a difference or differences (between or among); differentiate (between)

to be a distinctive feature of; characterize

to make out; perceive

to mark for a special honour or title

to make (oneself) noteworthyhe distinguished himself by his cowardice

to classify; categorizewe distinguished three species

Derived Formsdistinguishable, adjectivedistinguishably, adverbdistinguisher, noundistinguishing, adjectivedistinguishingly, adverb

Word Origin for distinguish

C16: from Latin distinguere to separate, discriminate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for distinguish

1560s, from Middle French distinguiss-, stem of distinguer, or directly from Latin distinguere "to separate between, separate by pricking," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + -stinguere "to prick" (see extinguish, and cf. Latin instinguere "to incite, impel").

The suffix -ish is due to the influence of many verbs in which it is the equivalent of Old French -iss-, ultimately from Latin inchoative suffix -iscere (this is also the case in extinguish, admonish, and astonish). Related: Distinguishing. The earlier form of the verb was distinguen (mid-14c.).