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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing distinguish

Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

Vocabulary of the Common Core

Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!

TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)

Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!

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

Broadcasters, the government explained in a fact sheet, should not air “false” information and should distinguish between fact and opinion, publicity and news.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Those improvements should make it easier for researchers to distinguish the predicted quantum signature from other physical processes taking place around magnetars.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026

Gotham is able to distinguish between the animals largely thanks to "fluke prints": whales have unique patterns on the underside of their tails, similar to human fingerprints, St. Lawrence explained.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

It is whether society can distinguish between AI as a creative substitute and AI as a creative tool.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

I could no longer distinguish people from monsters.

From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi

This absence distinguishes Silescelida acristata from nearly all of its close relatives.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 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

Jeong’s dense, dynamic brushwork distinguishes his style from those of the neighboring landscape traditions of China and Japan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

This is the element that distinguishes applied science from basic.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

"I'm really more of a paleoecologist, paleogeographer, not a taxonomist," says Dr. Cruz, who noticed unusual features in the Tar Pits specimens that distinguished S. labreae from known spadefoot toads.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

When the app launched 2014, founder and boss Whitney Wolfe Herd said it distinguished itself from rivals like Tinder by allowing women to "make the first move".

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Mark Joseph Stern: In your column at the end of this most recent term, you distinguished between the Supreme Court’s power to say what the law is after Marbury v.

From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026

He is a distinguished visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and a fellow in social thought at the University of Dallas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Rachel fiercely putting in overtime, foreshadowing a marital track record distinguished for quantity if not quality.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

I spent the first three paragraphs of a recent column distinguishing between acknowledging failed climate policy and questioning climate science.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

French Senators had opted for a two-tier system distinguishing between blacklisted platforms flagged as harmful to a child's development, and those that could still be accessed with parental consent.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 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

Inspecting roofs, especially distinguishing between wind and hail damage, involves a certain degree of subjective judgment.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026

The distinguishing feature of the document when it came to slavery was its evasiveness.

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

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