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

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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

The team combined these improvements with machine learning techniques to distinguish the exceptionally rare signals from the vast number of other particle processes.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 10, 2026

The few shops still functioning are boarded up – making it hard to distinguish what is still open.

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026

The U.S. also “could distinguish much more sharply between defending Israel against an attack and supporting military operations initiated by Israel,” he added.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

"I have concluded that attempting to distinguish among crimes and offenders for clemency would inadvertently create two classes of murder victims -- those whose perpetrators deserve the death penalty and then the rest," Newsom said.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

He halted by the first figure, unable to distinguish who it was, but feeling an aura of friendly kinship emanating from it.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

In an article, they note that the definition used in the measure hews closely to another section of California law, which distinguishes providing internet services from offering content, services and applications online.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

What to know: What distinguishes the latest take on Jane Austen’s story about the headstrong Elizabeth Bennet and the emotionally inaccessible Mr. Darcy?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

"There's nothing that distinguishes them from other bees really, they're not that kind of attention-grabbing species, but, you know, were you to look for them, go to ivy and you'll see them," Benwell said.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

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

The only thing that distinguishes one hallway from another, here, is their length.

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

A research team at North Carolina State University has confirmed that the culprit is Prionus imbricornus, a species of longhorn beetle distinguished by its long antennae.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026

Li Daxiao, one of China's most prominent investment gurus, also said "the burgeoning development of the industry is unstoppable" and should be clearly distinguished from "share price fluctuations".

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

His long and distinguished résumé of creeps, oddballs and villains lends a deep foundation to this role.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Besides the distinguished Starfleet officer, Stewart is also known for his portrayal of Professor Charles Xavier in the “X-Men” franchise.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 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

The distinguishing features of the Qatari airplane are its size, comfort, and the luxury of its interior furnishings, points Trump has gushed over.

From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2026

Wearing drill-sergeant regalia, Porowski instructs a group of hapless male shopper actors in such supermarket fundamentals as distinguishing celery from leeks, checking expiration dates and identifying ripe bananas.

From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026

The 6 acres of conservation land help preserve the wooded setting around the home, distinguishing it from luxury properties where neighboring development could eventually alter the surrounding views and sense of seclusion.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026

Obtaining these measurements requires instruments capable of distinguishing extremely fine details in the light collected from distant planetary atmospheres.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

The second distinguishing characteristic of these two examples is that in both cases little changes had big effects.

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell

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