Definitions for distinguish
dɪˈstɪŋ gwɪʃdis·tin·guish

Princeton's WordNet(1.33 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. distinguish, separate, differentiate, secern, secernate, severalize, severalise, tell, tell apart(verb)

   mark as different

   "We distinguish several kinds of maple"

2. spot, recognize, recognise, distinguish, discern, pick out, make out, tell apart(verb)

   detect with the senses

   "The fleeing convicts were picked out of the darkness by the watchful prison guards"; "I can't make out the faces in this photograph"

3. distinguish, mark, differentiate(verb)

   be a distinctive feature, attribute, or trait; sometimes in a very positive sense

   "His modesty distinguishes him from his peers"

4. signalize, signalise, distinguish(verb)

   make conspicuous or noteworthy

5. identify, discover, key, key out, distinguish, describe, name(verb)

   identify as in botany or biology, for example

Wiktionary(1.50 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. distinguish(Verb)

   To see someone or something as different from others.

   Etymology: From distingwen, from distinguer, from distinguere, from di- for dis- + *; see sting, stigma, style. Compare extinguish.

2. distinguish(Verb)

   To see someone or something clearly or distinctly.

   Etymology: From distingwen, from distinguer, from distinguere, from di- for dis- + *; see sting, stigma, style. Compare extinguish.

3. distinguish(Verb)

   To make one's self noticeably different or better from others through accomplishments.

   Etymology: From distingwen, from distinguer, from distinguere, from di- for dis- + *; see sting, stigma, style. Compare extinguish.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Distinguish(verb)

   not set apart from others by visible marks; to make distinctive or discernible by exhibiting differences; to mark off by some characteristic

2. Distinguish(verb)

   to separate by definition of terms or logical division of a subject with regard to difference; as, to distinguish sounds into high and low

3. Distinguish(verb)

   to recognize or discern by marks, signs, or characteristic quality or qualities; to know and discriminate (anything) from other things with which it might be confounded; as, to distinguish the sound of a drum

4. Distinguish(verb)

   to constitute a difference; to make to differ

5. Distinguish(verb)

   to separate from others by a mark of honor; to make eminent or known; to confer distinction upon; -- with by or for

6. Distinguish(verb)

   to make distinctions; to perceive the difference; to exercise discrimination; -- with between; as, a judge distinguishes between cases apparently similar, but differing in principle

7. Distinguish(verb)

   to become distinguished or distinctive; to make one's self or itself discernible

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Distinguish

   dis-ting′gwish, v.t. to mark off, set apart (often with from): to recognise by characteristic qualities: to discern critically: to separate by a mark of honour: to make eminent or known.—v.i. to make or show distinctions or differences, to recognise the difference (with from, between).—adj. Disting′uishable, that may be capable of being distinguished.—adv. Disting′uishably.—p.adj. Disting′uished, illustrious.—n. Disting′uisher.—p.adj. Disting′uishing, peculiar.—n. Disting′uishment (Shak.), distinction. [Through Fr. from L. distinguĕre, distinctum—dis, asunder, stinguĕre, to prick, conn. with Gr. stizein, to mark. See Sting.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'distinguish' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4481

2. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'distinguish' in Verbs Frequency: #485

How to pronounce distinguish?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say distinguish in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of distinguish in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of distinguish in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of distinguish in a Sentence

1. Samson Lee:

   Catching up with a developed economy is definitely an opportunity for DCM bankers, the challenge is that there are bumps and we'll see adjustments, which will distinguish the good players from the bad ones.

2. Dean Phillips:

   It's our attempt to weave everything together in a single experience for our customers, customers don't distinguish AWS from Alexa from Amazon.com. It's Amazon.

3. Elijah Cummings:

   It is revealing that the Republicans -- yet again -- are leaking cherry-picked excerpts of documents to support their preconceived political narrative without allowing committee members to even see their conclusions or vote on them first, by leaking information to reporters on condition that they not disclose it to Democrats, Republicans are intentionally bypassing the normal congressional vetting process designed to distinguish fact from fiction.

4. Julia Reda:

   Algorithms can not distinguish between actual copyright infringements and the perfectly legal re-use of content for purposes such as parody.

5. Elizabeth Bunn:

   You literally can walk into almost any non-union manufacturing plant in the United States and you ’ll see workers working on a line and not be able to distinguish who is temp from an agency and who is a direct employee of the company.

Images & Illustrations of distinguish

Popularity rank by frequency of use