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

Etymology

Origin of distinguishing

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

distinguishing

Dr. Mary K. Mulcahey, chief of sports medicine at Loyola University Medical Center, who specializes in shoulder and knee injuries, said AI would likely have a hard time distinguishing between different types of meniscus tears.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

First, practice distinguishing between what the Constitution says and what judges and justices say about the Constitution, a document riddled with aspirational vagaries and flexible abstractions.

From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026

Inspecting roofs, especially distinguishing between wind and hail damage, involves a certain degree of subjective judgment.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026

There is also value in distinguishing between information and action — research on perceived control and stress consistently shows that the gap between awareness and agency is one of the strongest predictors of psychological distress.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 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