Something that is distinctive has a special quality or feature which makes it easily recognizable and different from other things of the same type.
...the distinctive odour of chlorine.
...a distinctive blue and yellow flag.
His voice was very distinctive.
Synonyms: characteristic, special, individual, specific More Synonyms of distinctive
distinctivelyadverb [ADVERB adjective/-ed]
...the distinctively fragrant taste of elderflowers.
Each room is distinctively decorated with light, bright colors and floral prints.
distinctivenessuncountable noun [oft with poss]
His own distinctiveness was always evident at school.
distinctive in British English
(dɪˈstɪŋktɪv)
adjective
1.
serving or tending to distinguish
2.
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
Derived forms
distinctively (disˈtinctively)
adverb
distinctiveness (disˈtinctiveness)
noun
distinctive in American English
(dɪˈstɪŋktɪv)
adjective
making distinct; distinguishing from others; characteristic
SIMILAR WORDS: ˌcharacterˈistic
Derived forms
distinctively (disˈtinctively)
adverb
distinctiveness (disˈtinctiveness)
noun
Word origin
ME < ML distinctivus
Examples of 'distinctive' in a sentence
distinctive
As you turn the pages of this book you can almost hear his distinctive voice, chuckling over the anecdotes.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There were only personal items for his holiday in the distinctive blue carrier.
The Sun (2013)
The closeness of these relationships was distinctive to one phase of the life cycle.
Rotundo, E. Anthony American Manhood: Transformations in Masculinity from the Revolution to the ModernEra (1993)
The general opinion was that the most distinctive feature was the minimalist decor and aircraft hangar lighting.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Each song reflects its different writer in distinctive accents.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Your new love has a distinctive voice.
The Sun (2016)
The stone was very good quality and distinctive.
The Sun (2010)
Partners around the world sell the products in their distinctive blue glass packaging.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
But they could also be set apart by their highly distinctive style.
The Times Literary Supplement (2014)
Language is the distinctive feature of humans.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Luck is linking you to a friend who has a very distinctive voice.
The Sun (2010)
Design and decoration in village houses retained their distinctive quality.
Stearns, Peter N. World History: Patterns of Change and Continuity (1995)
Another distinctive feature of these gulls is the pure white edge to the front of their wings.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Luck connects you to the woman with a distinctive voice.
The Sun (2006)
This controversial subject reminds me of the six blind men who independently touched one distinctive part of an elephant.
Christianity Today (2000)
But in fact Somewhere stands up as a distinctive and different work.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Throughout, a strong ensemble cast adroitly tackles the distinctive performance styles demanded by this playwright.
The Times Literary Supplement (2008)
The distinctive quality of a sign is that the relationship between it and the meaning it is intended to convey is genetically fixed.
Sanderson, Stephen K. Macrosociology: An Introduction to Human Societies (1995)
But Seinfeld's treatment was always distinctive.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The city is cut into two distinctive halves by the Nile, which is broad and beautiful here.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
There is a danger in all this, of course: sending too many distinctive messages to different groups of voters could lead to charges of inconsistency.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
He also appeared to have had surgery on his eyelids and had two distinctive moles, which had been highlighted on wanted posters, removed from his right cheek.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
In other languages
distinctive
British English: distinctive /dɪˈstɪŋktɪv/ ADJECTIVE
Something that is distinctive has special qualities that make it easily recognizable.
His voice was very distinctive.
American English: distinctive
Arabic: مـُمَيِّز
Brazilian Portuguese: distinto
Chinese: 有特色的
Croatian: osebujan
Czech: výrazný
Danish: særegen
Dutch: onderscheidend
European Spanish: peculiar
Finnish: omaleimainen
French: distinctif
German: kennzeichnend
Greek: χαρακτηριστικός
Italian: caratteristico
Japanese: 特徴的な
Korean: 독특한
Norwegian: særegen
Polish: wyróżniający
European Portuguese: distinto
Romanian: distinct
Russian: характерный
Latin American Spanish: peculiar
Swedish: särskiljande
Thai: เด่น
Turkish: belirgin
Ukrainian: характерний
Vietnamese: dễ phân biệt
All related terms of 'distinctive'
distinctive smell
The smell of something is a quality it has which you become aware of when you breathe in through your nose .
distinctive character
The character of a person or place consists of all the qualities they have that make them distinct from other people or places.
distinctive feature
any of the set of phonetic characteristics that, when variously grouped together , distinguish one phoneme from another
distinctive flavour
The flavour of a food or drink is its taste .
distinctive identity
The identity of a person or place is the characteristics they have that distinguish them from others.
Chinese translation of 'distinctive'
distinctive
(dɪsˈtɪŋktɪv)
adj
与(與)众(眾)不同的 (yǔ zhòng bù tóng de)
(adjective)
Definition
easily recognizable
the distinctive odour of chlorine
Synonyms
characteristic
Windmills are a characteristic feature of the landscape.
special
I usually reserve these outfits for special occasions.
individual
We develop our own individual style of writing.
specific
the specific needs of the individual
unique
The area has its own unique language, Catalan.
typical
typical pastimes such as watching films and reading