distinctive en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /dɪˈstɪŋktɪv/
- (US) audio
Etymology
From Latin distinctus, perfect passive participle of distinguere (to push apart, to divide; see distinct) + -ive (forming adjectives signifying relation or tendency to). Cognate with French distinctif and Medieval Latin distinctivus.
Meanings
-
Distinguishing, used to or enabling the distinguishing of some thing.
Our Apparell was giuen vs as a signe distinctiue to discern betwixt sex and sex.
1583, Philip Stubbes, The Anatomie of Abuses, Folio V:a product in distinctive packaging
-
(rare) Discriminating, discerning, having the ability to distinguish between things.
[…]more judicious and distinctive heads...
1650, Thomas Browne, chapter 3, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 2nd book, page 75:
-
Characteristic, typical.
his distinctive bass voice
Wordsworth's distinctive work was a war with pomp and pretence, and a display of the majesty of simple feelings and humble hearts.
1856, John Ruskin, Modern Painters […], volume III, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, part IV (Of Many Things), page 293:
-
(rare) Distinguished, being distinct in character or position.
The refugees... at length ceased to exist as a distinctive body among the people.
1867, Samuel Smiles, chapter XVII, in The Huguenots, page 432:
-
(Hebrew, of accents) Used to separate clauses in place of stops.
These are the main distinctive accents, and by stopping at them... the reader will do justice to the sense.
1874, Andrew Bruce Davidson, Introductory Hebrew Grammar, page 27:
-
(of sounds) Distinguishing a particular sense of word.
Normally we symbolize only phonemes (distinctive features) so far as we can determine them.
1927, L. Bloomfield et al., Language, number 3, page 129:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most distinctive | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more distinctive | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
distinctive paper · distinctiveness · counterdistinctive · indistinctive · distinctively · biodistinctive · distinctive feature · undistinctive · nondistinctive
Relateds
distinct · distinguishness · distinction · distinguish · distinguishable · contradistinctive
Translations (42)
ru осо́бый (characteristic — see also characteristic) · bg отличи́телен (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · fi erottava (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · nb særpreget (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · ru типи́чный (characteristic — see also characteristic) · de unverkennbar (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · de kennzeichnend (characteristic — see also characteristic) · de ausgeprägt (characteristic — see also characteristic) · az fərqli (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · fi luonteenomainen (characteristic — see also characteristic) · da distinktiv (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · es definitorio (characteristic — see also characteristic) · da karakteristisk (characteristic — see also characteristic) · mi kōhure (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · hu ismertető (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · fr distinctif (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · gl distintivo (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · ru отличи́тельный (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · pl wyróżniający (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · ru характеристи́ческий (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · de unverwechselbar (characteristic — see also characteristic) · tr farklı (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · pl charakterystyczny (characteristic — see also characteristic) · de charakteristisch (characteristic — see also characteristic) · ru дифференциа́льный (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · nb særpreget (characteristic — see also characteristic) · ru характе́рный (characteristic — see also characteristic) · fi omaleimainen (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · es distintivo (characteristic — see also characteristic) · da særegen (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · ro distinctiv (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · fi persoonallinen (characteristic — see also characteristic) · pl odróżniający (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · ca distintiu (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · fi tunnusomainen (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · mn онцлогтой (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · es característico (characteristic — see also characteristic) · ru осо́бенный (characteristic — see also characteristic) · ru характе́рный (distinguishing — see also distinguishing) · bg характерен (characteristic — see also characteristic) · fi tyypillinen (characteristic — see also characteristic) · ru различи́тельный (distinguishing — see also distinguishing)