Showing results for "distinguishing"

• present participle of distinguish.

distinguishing

American  

[dih-sting-gwi-shing] / dɪˈstɪŋ gwɪ ʃɪŋ /

adjective

1. distinctive; characteristic, as a definitive feature of an individual or group.

   Intricate rhyming is a distinguishing feature of her poetry.

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Other Word Forms

• nondistinguishing
  adjective
• self-distinguishing
  adjective
• undistinguishing
  adjective
• distinguishingly
  adverb
• undistinguishingly
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of distinguishing

First recorded in 1660–70; distinguish + -ing ²

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

distinguishing

Even more surprisingly, the brain cells became better at distinguishing these unusual tones as the experiment continued.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026

Hannah Grossman, co-director of High Desert Test Sites, sees Albuquerque’s physical engagement with the landscape as a distinguishing feature of her practice.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

"So for example, people of colour, gender, queer people, people with kind of interesting and distinguishing facial features, it means that they're going to be left out," she said.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

Often companies have a hard time distinguishing which is which.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Descartes and Boyle are confident they can protect themselves from atheism, the first by distinguishing mind from matter, and the second by regarding the natural world as providing proof of God’s design.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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