Link Centre Dictionary

distinguish

dis·tin·guish

UK/dɪˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪʃ/ US/dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ/ fairly common

verb

1.

mark as different

  • “We distinguish several kinds of maple”
Synonyms
2.

detect with the senses

  • “The fleeing convicts were picked out of the darkness by the watchful prison guards”
  • “I can”
Synonyms
3.

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

  • “His modesty distinguishes him form his peers”
Synonyms
4.
5.

Origin

From Middle English distingwen, from Old French distinguer, from Latin distinguere (“to separate, divide, distinguish, set off, adorn, literally mark off”), from di-, dis- (“apart”) + stinguere, related to English stink. Compare extinguish.

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Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.