English Dictionary
Definition of “distinctive”
distinctive (dɪˈstɪŋktɪv
)
Definitions
adjective
- serving or tending to distinguish
- denoting one of a set of minimal features of a phoneme in a given language that serve to distinguish it from other phonemes. The distinctive features of /p/ in English are that it is voiceless, bilabial, non-nasal, and plosive; /b/ is voiced, bilabial, non-nasal, and plosive: the two differ by the distinctive feature of voice
Alternative Forms
disˈtinctively adverb disˈtinctiveness noun
Synonyms
View thesaurus entry
=
characteristic,
special,
individual,
specific,
unique,
typical,
extraordinary,
distinguishing,
signature,
peculiar,
singular,
idiosyncratic,
Translations
- British English:
distinctive
Something that is distinctive has special qualities that make it easily recognizable.His voice was very distinctive.dɪˈstɪŋktɪv ADJECTIVE His voice was very distinctive.
- Spanish:
peculiar
adj
- French:
distinctif
adj distinctive
- German:
kennzeichnend
adj
- Chinese: 有特色的 adj
- Arabic: مـُمَيِّز adj
- Portuguese: distinto adj distinta
- Russian: характерный adj характерная
- Croatian: osebujan adj osebujna
- Czech: charakteristický adj
- Danish: særegen adj
- Dutch: onderscheidend adj
- Finnish: omaleimainen adj
- Greek: χαρακτηριστικός adj χαρακτηριστική
- Italian: caratteristico adj caratteristica
- Japanese: 特徴的な no_posp
- Korean: 독특한 adj
- Norwegian: særegen adj
- Polish: wyróżniający adj wyróżniająca
- Brazilian Portuguese: distinto adj distinta
- European Spanish:
peculiar
adj
- Swedish: särskiljande adj
- Thai: เด่น adj
- Turkish: belirgin adj
- Vietnamese: dễ phân biệt adj
Usage examples
The bilge pumps had cut in now, their high-pitched whine distinctive over the deeper roar of the main engines.
Lunnon-Wood, Mike, Let Not the Deep (1994)The latter's distinctive song is easy to imitate, but although my whistle wasanswered, the bird refused to show itself.
Country Life (2005)It is clearly fixed on developing and successfully implementing a distinctive AIB customer proposition.
Irish Times (2002)The tertiary age dike is similar to several others on Cumbrae and Arran but is made distinctive by its resemblance to a prowling lion.
Glasgow Herald (2001)How and why each of us develops our own distinctive sleep characteristics remains largely unknown.
Paul Martin, COUNTING SHEEP: The Science and Pleasures of Sleep and Dreams (2002)
