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
Related Words
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
- distinguishable adjective
- distinguishably adverb
- distinguisher noun
- distinguishing adjective
- distinguishingly adverb
- distinguishment noun
- interdistinguish verb (used with object)
- predistinguish verb (used with object)
- redistinguish verb
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; distinct
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.
The study also grouped all types of salt substitutes together, so it could not distinguish potassium-based products from other alternatives.
From Science Daily
Clare scoured the room for the badger, but with the candles and hearth fire still snuffed, his eye struggled to distinguish shape from shadow.
From Literature
But it’s critical to distinguish between weaker firms and established operators with disciplined processes.
From MarketWatch
However, their chemical similarity to certain plastics makes them difficult to distinguish in lab analyses, increasing the risk of false positives when studying microplastic pollution.
From Science Daily
The artist’s summer stays on the Northern French coastline began in 1885 in Grandcamp, a humble fishing village distinguished only by its vacant beachfront and dramatic cliffs rising to the east.
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.
