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distinguish

/dɪˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪʃ/verb3 syllables

Distinguish means: mark as different.

Synonyms for distinguish27

verb, as in mark as different

separate, differentiate, secern, secernate, severalize, severalise, tell, tell apart

verb, as in detect with the senses

spot, recognize, recognise, discern, pick out, make out, tell apart

verb, as in identify as in botany or biology, for example

identify, discover, key, key out, describe, name

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

mark, differentiate

verb, as in make conspicuous or noteworthy

signalize, signalise

also used for distinguish

discriminate, decern, differentialize, set apart

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does distinguish mean?5

verb

1

mark as different“We distinguish several kinds of maple”

2

detect with the senses“The fleeing convicts were picked out of the darkness by the watchful prison guards”

3

identify as in botany or biology, for example

4

be a distinctive feature, attribute, or trait; sometimes in a very positive sense“His modesty distinguishes him from his peers”

5

make conspicuous or noteworthy

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with distinguish?1

three syllables

extinguish
Show 40 near rhymes
livingbuildingthinkingenglishbritishgivingmissingdistrictvisitspecificbeginningwinningfinishedfinishmrskillingsittingengineeringexistingwillingbringingdrinkingbuildingsscientificcommittedstatisticspacificsingingshippingadmittedolympicfishinghittingolympicspickingswimmingprintedcriticsphysicslyrics

Distinguish in a sentence

  • In biology, it is important to distinguish phenotype from genotype.nonong
  • We distinguish between good and bad actions, not good and bad people.Luornu
  • In the past, all children could distinguish good from evil.Miktsoanit
  • The journalist was too upset to distinguish vice from virtue.fishda
  • They sound so similar it's not easy to distinguish them.CM
  • We cannot distinguish her from her younger sister.Zifre
  • He can not distinguish between right and wrong.unknown
  • The driver could not distinguish the signal in the fog.auxitt

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of distinguish

as a verb

past tense
distinguished
present participle
distinguishing
third-person singular
distinguishes
past participle
distinguished