distinguishdis‧tin‧guish /dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ/ ●●○ S3 W3 verb 
His attorney argued that Cope could not distinguish between right and wrong.distinguish somebody/something from a method of distinguishing cancer cells from normal tissue► see thesaurus at recognizeRegisterIn everyday English, people usually use the phrases tell the difference between somebody/something or tell somebody/something from somebody/something, rather than distinguish:· He can’t tell the difference between right and wrong.· How do you tell cancer cells from healthy cells?2[transitive not in progressive] to be the thing that makes someone or something different or specialdistinguish somebody/something from The factor that distinguishes this company from the competition is customer service.distinguishing feature/mark/characteristic The main distinguishing feature of this species is the leaf shape.3[transitive not in progressive] written to be able to see the shape of something or hear a particular sound: The light was too dim for me to distinguish anything clearly.4distinguish yourself to do something so well that people notice and remember you: He distinguished himself on several occasions in the civil war.
WORD ORIGINdistinguish
Origin:
1500-1600 French distinguer, from Latin distinguere ‘to separate using a sharp pointed object’VERB TABLE
distinguish
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | distinguish |
| he, she, it | distinguishes | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | distinguished |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have distinguished |
| he, she, it | has distinguished | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had distinguished |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will distinguish |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have distinguished |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am distinguishing |
| he, she, it | is distinguishing | |
| you, we, they | are distinguishing | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was distinguishing |
| you, we, they | were distinguishing | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been distinguishing |
| he, she, it | has been distinguishing | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been distinguishing |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be distinguishing |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been distinguishing |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- A tiny baby soon learns to distinguish its mother's face from other adults' faces.
- Even a expert would find it hard to distinguish between the original painting and the copy.
- I couldn't distinguish the words, but his tone was clear.
- It was just possible to distinguish the darkened village below.
- Several thousand minerals can be distinguished, each defined by its own set of properties.
- There's not a lot that distinguishes her from the other candidates.
- What distinguishes this approach from previous attempts to deal with HIV?
- What really distinguishes the proposal?
- From that time onwards there was reason still, but not so much reason, to distinguish between trusts and legacies.
- I shall not attempt to distinguish the particular sources of individual ideas.
- The difficulty in distinguishing between hypotheses was not surprising since only 209 families with Crohn's disease were available for analysis.
- The trick in improving quality was to distinguish between variation due to random causes and that due to specific or assignable causes.
- They had to distinguish between problems because of a lack of ability from those of a lack of motivation.
THESAURUS
to know who someone is or what something is, especially because you have seen or heard them before: · I hadn’t seen her for ten years, but I recognized her immediately.· Do you recognize this song?
to recognize someone or something and say who or what they are: · As they came closer, I was able to identify two of the group.· It’s delicious but I can’t quite identify the taste.
to recognize and understand the difference between two or more things or people: · By this age, kids can usually distinguish between right and wrong.· It’s often difficult to distinguish identical twins from each other.
to be able to see or hear something or someone – used when it is very difficult to do this: · In the distance, I could just make out the outline of an island.· He whispered something but I couldn’t make out what it was.
formal to notice or understand something by looking carefully or thinking about it carefully: · I thought I discerned a faint gleam of hope in his eyes.· A number of differences can be discerned in the data for the three countries.
Longman Language Activatorto notice that two things or people are different to be able to notice that two things or people are different, even though they seem to be similar: · It looked just like a real diamond - I couldn't tell the difference.can tell the difference between: · Can you tell the difference between a really good wine and the sort that you might drink every day?
to be able to see that two very similar people or things are different - use this especially in questions and negative statements: · The twins are identical - even their parents can't always tell them apart.
to be able to recognize and understand the difference between two or more similar people or things: · Several thousand minerals can be distinguished, each defined by its own set of properties.distinguish between: · Even a expert would find it hard to distinguish between the original painting and the copy.distinguish from: · A tiny baby soon learns to distinguish its mother's face from other adults' faces.
to know, see, or show the difference between a group of people or things: differentiate between: · As journalists, we have to differentiate between facts and opinions.differentiate from: · Part of the management course was teaching us how to differentiate essential tasks from less important ones.
to say what the difference is between two or more similar people or things: draw/make a distinction between: · The law draws a distinction between different types of killing, according to whether it was intended or not.· In the government's education proposals there is a clear distinction made between academic and practical training.
to be able to find differences between similar people or things in order to make a choice: discriminate between: · The monkeys were easily able to discriminate between the different objects, according to their visual appearance.discriminate from: · A test is useful for discriminating those students who have reached a higher level from those at a lower level.
to be the thing that makes someone or something different to be the thing that makes someone or something different from other people or things: · What really distinguishes the proposal?distinguish from: · There's not a lot that distinguishes her from the other candidates.· What distinguishes this approach from previous attempts to deal with HIV?
if a quality sets someone or something apart , it makes you notice them because they are so different or unusual: · Such seriousness and ambition in a very young man set him apart.set sb/sth apart from: · The new software was a unique tool that set the Microsoft Network apart from other commercial online services.
to do something skilfully or carefully · Don't worry about the test - I'm sure you'll do well.· She enjoys her job and does it very well.· If a firm does a job well, we use them again.
especially spoken to do something well, especially a job that you have been asked to do: · You can always rely on Brian to do a good job.· You're doing a good job there, Sally. I don't know what we'd do without you.do a good job of doing something: · They did a really good job of decorating my bathroom.
British to do something well, especially a piece of practical work, so that it looks good or works well: · The hairdresser made a good job of your hair. It looks lovely.· We've just had a new heating system installed, but unfortunately they didn't make a very good job of it.
to do something much better than most other people, especially because you have a natural ability to do it well: · I didn't exactly excel academically and I left school as soon as I had the chance.excel at/in: · He played cricket for Middlesex but it was football that he really excelled at.· Many parents put too much pressure on their children to excel in school.excel yourself British (=do even better than usual): · Costner has excelled himself in this movie - definitely his best performance yet.
to be better or more successful than someone else at doing something: · The Canadian hockey team has outdone all its rivals.outdo somebody in something: · Each state seems to be trying to outdo its neighbors in cutting health services.outdo yourself (=do even better than usual): · The singer outdid himself at the festival, singing for almost three hours to noisy applause.not to be outdone (=so that no one else does better than you): · Not to be outdone, Stern went on television and made a speech of his own.
to do something very well, so that people notice you, praise you, and remember you: · Bradley has distinguished himself as the top scorer on the team.· After joining the newspaper, she quickly distinguished herself with a series of hard-hitting exposés.
to be able to see something, but with difficulty to see someone or something, but only with difficulty: make out something: · Among the trees below, he could make out a yellow pick-up truck.· I could just make out Murphy in the bed next to mine.make it out: · Some crystals are so small, a microscope is needed to make them out.make out what/where/who: · It was difficult to make out where the rocks ended and the sea began.· At first, I couldn't make out what I was seeing.
formal to see the shape of someone or something with difficulty: · The room was too dimly lit for me to distinguish anything clearly.· It was just possible to distinguish the darkened village below.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The main distinguishing feature of this species is the leaf shape.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
The main distinguishing feature of this species is the leaf shape. (=very successful)· She retired last year after a distinguished career as a barrister.
(=separating someone or something from others of the same type)· The blue feathers are the distinguishing characteristic of the male bird.
(=one that makes something different from others of the same type)· A long beak is one of the bird’s distinguishing features.
(=one who has done something that people respect or admire)· Many distinguished guests were invited to the opening ceremony.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· More and more consultants were distinguishing between performance-only versus performance-and-change assignments.· You had to go by their strut to distinguish between who should be approached and who avoided.· Toward the end of Period 1, an infant begins to distinguish between objects, a behavior not present at birth.
· Nor did he distinguish clearly between practices in solo and tutti sections.· Why does it exist? 5 Distinguish clearly between the benefits-received and the ability-to-pay principles of taxation.· As soon as Possible we will paint this area of the playground so that it can be clearly distinguished by everyone.· A retailer is required to distinguish clearly between the two in labelling and display.· He also distinguishes clearly between criteria which qualify a firm's products to be considered and those which actually win the order.· We can not, for instance, distinguish clearly between Na-O and Si-0 pairs, or Na-O and Ca-O pairs.· He made his design choreographically viable by distinguishing clearly between the two styles he was using.· Clearly distinguish between primary and secondary sources, and between the different types of history books.
· Her former husband is Britain's most distinguished amateur huntsman and Master of the Duke of Beafort's foxhounds.· Today Loretta Barrett Books is one of the most distinguished literary agencies in the business.· The performances too are most distinguished.
NOUN· And one of the distinctive features of life here has been a gradual loss of the ability to distinguish right from wrong.· Some species of birds have developed the ability to distinguish between model and mimic and will feed on the imposters.· Prioritising - the ability to distinguish between, for example, the urgent and the merely important. 3.· The ability to distinguish between structure and detail, essential and inessential is a function of one's knowledge of a subject.· They act on him and impair his ability to distinguish between thought and perception, between concepts and objects.· Equally important for understanding of religion is the ability to distinguish between what is peripheral and what is central.
· Both characteristics were to distinguish his rule over the next forty years.· There were four main characteristics which distinguished the early retired from other older people.
· Firstly, the distinction between manual and non-manual work is not seen by some as an adequate way of distinguishing between classes.· The most fundamental value that distinguishes classes differs for different class theorists.· Marx distinguished two classes, bourgeois and proletarian, based on the ownership of the means of production.· The buildings, playing fields, 75 monuments, benches, even trees honor Naval heroes and distinguished classes of midshipmen.· At the moment, the law does not distinguish between different classes of director.· Wealth during industrialisation was no longer adequate as a distinguishing feature of social class.· Thus, we can see that we can distinguish three main classes in contemporary capitalist society.· In this way, Portes distinguishes five social classes.
· The difficulty in distinguishing between hypotheses was not surprising since only 209 families with Crohn's disease were available for analysis.· He had difficulty distinguishing the real from the imagined.· One reason for this reluctance to take action against the process of monopolization is the difficulty of distinguishing acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.
· Salt ways present no special features that distinguish them from other roads and lanes on the map or on the ground.· One of the features that distinguishes the United States from other countries is the extent to which teenagers work.· Moral ambivalence is probably associated with a number of other features which distinguish regulatory misconduct from breaches of the traditional code.· What features distinguish democracies or dictatorships?
· However, it is not simply the type of service or resource which distinguishes one form of prevention from another.· He would distinguish the various forms in which meaning may be actualised from the underlying structures on which meaning rests.· We must distinguish between weak forms and contracted forms.· The second distinguishes crudely between legal form and intention.· But even functional psychosis can vary in symptomatology and psychiatrists generally distinguish between two main forms.
· We jointly hosted an informal Sunday lunch for a distinguished group of actors on their day off.· I know, of course, that distinguished individuals, even groups, in the homosexual community have claimed kinship with him.· There are some characteristics that are helpful in distinguishing a mere group from a team.· Types of Interest Groups To this point, we have not distinguished among political interest groups.· It is not, of course, mere coverage of pension schemes that distinguishes manual from non-manual groups.· A distinguished group of authors is slated for the seventh annual Women Writers Event.· The database has extensive disaggregation by country, distinguishes fourteen commodity groups and covers a twenty year span of data.· In less distinguished groups, the leader would have a fair amount of managing to do.
· It is vital therefore to distinguish between the two kinds of breach of covenant.· As he got older, spoke more and was spoken to more, he began to distinguish two kinds of people.· However, Marxists distinguish two kinds of dissenting consciousness which can be fostered amongst workers by personal experience and by collective organization.· We can distinguish between two kinds of rationale or emphasis in general degree courses: the general and the generic.· One might distinguish three kinds of policy areas in which a country either is or is not sovereign.· Hutcheson distinguishes two kinds of beauty, absolute and relative.· Now, one can distinguish two kinds of schematic knowledge.· The student learns to recognise and distinguish between different kinds of events and responds to them appropriately.
· This indicator must be a characteristic that is easily identifiable, and which clearly distinguishes working-class students from others.· This will help distinguish your message from others, and in the process will interest the reader.· At first infants can not distinguish between themselves and others.· Then agents have a hard time distinguishing illegal aliens from others, he said.
· But we need to distinguish it from another type.· But we need to distinguish between two types of tribal members.· In principle, correspondence- and interpretation-computations together can distinguish between the three types of perception in question.· In the last few years, nutritionists have begun to distinguish between two types of protein - animal and plant.· The idea of a crossroads is a difficult concept to pin down because we have to distinguish between different types of changes.· It is important to distinguish three types of merger.· Nowadays it is important to distinguish between two main types of online information: historical and real time.
· Whenever he drifts toward sleep he feels close to distinguishing the words.· Tone languages use tone to distinguish words from each other.· However, the grammar must be able to correctly distinguish word hypotheses or the number of paths will grow exponentially.· He could not distinguish her words but she sounded harassed and tense.
VERB· They fail to distinguish between wealth used to finance production and wealth used to finance consumption.· Frequently, urban employment rates fail to distinguish between those living and working in the cities and those commuting in.· Treating this tragedy as a law and order matter misses the point, because it fails to distinguish between symptom and cause.· Otherwise you may obscure the development of your essay by failing to distinguish its overall direction.· The problem of tracing the invention of enamel is made more difficult by failing to distinguish it more certainly from glass.
· Initiative members argue an ACE/Intel machine would have helped Intel distinguish itself from the cloners nipping most furiously at its heels.· This will help distinguish your message from others, and in the process will interest the reader.· Use the check card to help you distinguish between pattern and background rows.· Naturally, we turn to medical experts to help us distinguish between a cold and the flu or another ailment.· All of this should also help social workers to distinguish the important from the trivial.· Child care research should help practitioners distinguish what is grave and enduring from the less serious and transient.· The last chapter dealt with one type of connectivity which helps to distinguish text from non-text, namely thematic and information structure.
· We say that he discovers his identity as he learns to distinguish between his body and the rest of the world.· The student learns to recognise and distinguish between different kinds of events and responds to them appropriately.· The octopus, he discovered, could learn to distinguish such shapes and patterns and avoid those coupled with the unpleasant experience.
· However, it is clear that we still need to distinguish between different advantages which can be distributed unequally.· But we need to distinguish between two types of tribal members.· But we need to distinguish it from another type.· However, you need to distinguish between the case of the single team versus many teams.· Also, as we have noted, we sometimes need to distinguish speaker from source and addressee from target.· We need some way to distinguish such events from the crises that mark structural changes.· To answer this question you need to distinguish between status that is earned and that which is not.· In trying to sum up what this Green Movement is you need to distinguish between two important polarities, or tendencies.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1[intransitive, transitive] to recognize and understand the difference between two or more things or people SYN differentiatedistinguish between- After joining the newspaper, she quickly distinguished herself with a series of hard-hitting exposés.
- Bradley has distinguished himself as the top scorer on the team.
- Eastwood distinguished himself as an actor before becoming a director.
- During the battle five Troll Slayers distinguished themselves by attacking and destroying three Trolls which were perilously close to crushing Duregar himself.
- He distinguished himself as third-string quarterback for the football team.
- He was clever, but disinclined to distinguish himself in study, athletic but lazy, honest but argumentative.
- Look, we were just kids, who like all kids want to distinguish ourselves from our parents.
- Perhaps Hincmar's silence here was tactful, since Charles the Bald's sons had not distinguished themselves in the traditional roles.
- She has been unable to effectively distinguish herself from other objects on a sensorimotor level.
- The Conservatives under John Major tried to distinguish themselves from their Thatcherite past by stressing a commitment to quality public services.
- Tim distinguished himself for eleven years in Miami, including the history-making 1972 undefeated season that climaxed in the 1973 Super Bowl.
His attorney argued that Cope could not distinguish between right and wrong.distinguish somebody/something from a method of distinguishing cancer cells from normal tissue► see thesaurus at recognizeRegisterIn everyday English, people usually use the phrases tell the difference between somebody/something or tell somebody/something from somebody/something, rather than distinguish:· He can’t tell the difference between right and wrong.· How do you tell cancer cells from healthy cells?2[transitive not in progressive] to be the thing that makes someone or something different or specialdistinguish somebody/something from The factor that distinguishes this company from the competition is customer service.distinguishing feature/mark/characteristic The main distinguishing feature of this species is the leaf shape.3[transitive not in progressive] written to be able to see the shape of something or hear a particular sound: The light was too dim for me to distinguish anything clearly.4distinguish yourself to do something so well that people notice and remember you: He distinguished himself on several occasions in the civil war.