# distinctive

Pronunciation: say "di-STINGK-tiv" /dɪˈstɪŋktɪv/

## Adjective

1. Serving to set something apart and mark it off from other things of the same kind.
   - Simple: Helping to tell one thing apart from others.
   - _The car's distinctive shape makes it easy to spot in a crowded parking lot._
   - _Each valley produces cheeses with distinctive flavors that set one farm apart from the next._
2. Characteristic of a particular person, group, or thing; typical of them.
   - Simple: Belonging to and typical of one person, group, or place.
   - _The bold brushwork is distinctive of the Impressionist painters._
   - _Heavy brass sections are distinctive of New Orleans jazz._
4. In linguistics, serving to distinguish one word's meaning from another, as when a sound feature signals a change in meaning.
   - Simple: In language study, helping to tell apart words that mean different things.
   - _Vowel length is distinctive in some languages but makes no difference in English._
   - _Linguists check whether a contrast is distinctive by finding word pairs that differ in only one sound._
7. In grammar, used to separate clauses in place of periods, dividing a passage into smaller units. *(dialectal, Hebrew)*
   - Simple: In writing, marking where one clause ends and the next begins, instead of using a period.
   - _In medieval manuscripts, a distinctive sign often separated clauses where modern writers place a period._
   - _The editor catalogued the distinctive marks the scribe used instead of periods._

## Noun

3. A quality or property that sets something apart and lets one tell it from others.
   - Simple: A special quality that helps tell one thing apart from others.
   - _Transparency is a key distinctive of the company's culture._
   - _The guidebook lists the distinctives that separate one wine region from another._
5. A belief, teaching, or doctrine that sets one denomination or sect apart from others.
   - Simple: A special belief that sets one church group apart from others.
   - _Believer's baptism remains a central distinctive of the Baptist tradition._
   - _The seminary course compared the distinctives of several Protestant denominations._
6. A distinguishing accent; a manner of pronunciation that marks a speaker as coming from a particular place. *(dialectal, Hebrew)*
   - Simple: A way of speaking that shows where someone comes from.
   - _Her speech carried a distinctive that placed her instantly in the north._
   - _Dialect surveys record the regional distinctives heard across the country._

## Adjective

8. Having the ability to discern and tell apart fine differences between things; discriminating. *(rare)*
   - Simple: Able to notice and judge small differences between things.
   - _A distinctive palate let the sommelier tell apart vintages that others found identical._
   - _His distinctive ear could separate one instrument from another in a full orchestra._
9. Distinguished and eminent; marked by a notable distinctness of character or position among others. *(rare)*
   - Simple: Important and respected, and standing out in rank or character.
   - _The ceremony honored several distinctive figures in the field of medicine._
   - _He retired after a long and distinctive career in public service._

## Origin

This word comes from Latin distinctus, the past participle of distinguere ("to push apart, to divide"), combined with the adjective-forming suffix -ive. It is related to French distinctif and Medieval Latin distinctivus.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/distinctive (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).