distinctive

American  

[dih-stingk-tiv] / dɪˈstɪŋk tɪv /

adjective

1. serving to distinguish; characteristic; distinguishing.

   the distinctive stripes of the zebra.

   Synonyms:

   individual

2. having a special quality, style, attractiveness, etc.; notable.

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distinctive British  

/ dɪˈstɪŋktɪv /

adjective

1. serving or tending to distinguish

2. denoting one of a set of minimal features of a phoneme in a given language that serve to distinguish it from other phonemes. The distinctive features of /p/ in English are that it is voiceless, bilabial, non-nasal, and plosive; /b/ is voiced, bilabial, non-nasal, and plosive: the two differ by the distinctive feature of voice

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Other Word Forms

• distinctively adverb
• distinctiveness noun
• subdistinctive adjective
• subdistinctively adverb
• subdistinctiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of distinctive

First recorded in 1575–85; from Medieval Latin distinctīvus; equivalent to distinct + -ive

Explanation

Her big eyes and plump lips are distinctive features that make her a great model. These are just some of the special features that distinguish her. You might recognize the Latin prefix dis in the adjective distinctive. Dis often means "apart" or "away." Think of this when trying to remember the word distinctive. Someone with distinctive features has features that set them "apart" from others. Yes, its stepped-back architecture and distinctive spire are among the Empire State Building's distinctive features, but its most distinctive feature has to be its height: for decades there wasn't another building in New York that came close!

Example Sentences

Buzz electric van, which itself is inspired by one of German company’s most distinctive machines, the Volkswagen bus.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

This emerging chemistry could allow scientists to develop new reaction types or assemble larger molecular structures with distinctive properties, potentially leading to new materials and products.

From Science Daily • May 1, 2026

These are the dishes that hold up in real kitchens and real routines—reliable, satisfying and just distinctive enough to feel worth repeating.

From Salon • Apr. 28, 2026

A distinctive feature of this new alliance is that it unites two organisations with different agendas, said Jean-Herve Jezequel, the head of the Sahel project at the International Crisis Group.

From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026

Nowadays, however, style is used loosely to mean the distinctive way a thing is done in any field of human endeavor.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson

Related Words

• cool
• extraordinary
• idiosyncratic
• offbeat
• original
• peculiar
• singular
• special
• weird