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. Jody Gilchrist:

   The body doesn't distinguish between 'bad' stress from life or work and 'good' stress caused by game-day excitement.

2. Rob Leathern:

   We've been training our automated systems to distinguish medical masks from non-medical masks and get better at detecting violating content with false urgency and health claims. While our enforcement won't ever be perfect, it will get better with time.

3. Siddharth Astir:

   Everyone has a different finger print.... Not to distinguish onself , but to give us an equal opportunity to leave a mark on the world.

4. Anuj Somany:

   A sane may distinguish the true believers in him from the horde of followers by differentiating who TRULY likes his own or others shared thoughts from those who MERELY like the beautiful picture that his quote poster has got.

5. Lujan Grisham:

   One of the reasons that our( New Mexico) families are resilient, strong even in the face of extreme poverty and difficulty is because we are open, we integrate well, and we think we can message that about the economy, the wall is not a positive message. So it will give us an opportunity to distinguish ourselves and to talk about that advocacy which we think will be very beneficial.

Images & Illustrations of distinguish

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