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Synonyms

distinguish

American

[dih-sting-gwish] / dɪˈstɪŋ gwɪʃ /

verb (used with object)

to mark off as different (often followed by from orby ).

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.

Antonyms:

confuse
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 bybetween ).
to recognize or note differences; discriminate.

distinguish British

/ dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ /

verb

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) noteworthy

he distinguished himself by his cowardice
to classify; categorize

we distinguished three species

"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

Synonym Usage

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

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

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; see distinct

Explanation

To distinguish means to tell apart. If you win the lottery, you’re going to need to learn to distinguish between people who really like you and people who like your money. To distinguish is to discern, which means to perceive or recognize the way something differs from what’s around it. It takes discerning taste buds to distinguish between Coke and Pepsi. Distinguish also means to separate yourself out from the pack, usually in a good way. You might distinguish yourself at a Comics Convention with your encyclopedic knowledge of Krazy Kat.

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Vocabulary lists containing distinguish

Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List

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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.

See Examples For:

distinguish distinguishes distinguished distinguishing

He added: "This was a concerted conjoint attack with each of you doing separate things and in all the circumstances I see no reason to distinguish the penalties upon you."

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

At the same time, it can create groups that are highly similar in both ancestry and biological function, making them easier to distinguish from neighboring populations.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

Evidence of a connection has remained elusive however, as El Niño is notoriously variable, making it difficult to distinguish long-term changes from its natural ebb and flow.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

The automatons he has created seem to lack the necessary ability to distinguish between friend and foe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Even Ripred could not distinguish the smell of rats in a place reeking of rats.

From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins

The model's discrimination, which measures how effectively it distinguishes between people who will and will not experience a cardiovascular event, increased only slightly.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026

But, he said, he distinguishes between short- and intermediate-term bonds that offer steady income, liquidity and diversification and long-duration bonds that pose more uncertainty.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

“The ability to imagine a different world is what distinguishes the leaders of any social movement,” Linda Greenhouse once wrote of Ginsburg.

From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026

It is the only book with language that distinguishes which purchases fund FLAG’s mission or pay Adams directly.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026

What distinguishes the American Revolution from most, if not all, subsequent revolutions worthy of the name is that in the battle for supremacy, for the “true meaning” of the Revolution, neither side completely triumphed.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who serves as the Smithsonian Chancellor, hailed his "distinguished service," adding: "Secretary Bunch has pursued excellence in the telling of our nation's story."

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

"President Samia has lost a lifelong companion, her children a beloved father, and Tanzania a distinguished son," he wrote on social media.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

Overdeck distinguished between that compensation and the paper gains he made on the appreciation of his ownership stake in Two Sigma.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

That was the main differential, according to him, that distinguished these two cases.

From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026

It was sometimes difficult to believe that Dr. Roland was a tenured professor in the Social Science Department of this, a distinguished college.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

She stressed, however, the importance of distinguishing between literary criticism and what often passes for such on social media but which, in her view, amounts to "advertising."

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

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

"Bristle worm jaws also showed size-dependent elasticity. This is a distinguishing feature of bio-metals when compared to standard crystalline metals like copper or silver," said author Christian Hellmich.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026

To the civil enquiries which then poured in, and amongst which she had the pleasure of distinguishing the much superior solicitude of Mr. Bingley’s, she could not make a very favourable answer.

From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023