diacritical
adjective
di·a·crit·i·cal ˌdī-ə-ˈkri-ti-kəl 
variants or less commonly diacritic
ˌdī-ə-ˈkri-tik
1
: serving as a diacritic
2
a
: distinctive
the diacritical elements in culture
S. F. Nadel
S. F. Nadel b
: capable of distinguishing
students of superior diacritical powers
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The diacritical marks help readers distinguish between words that would otherwise look identical. Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2021 Both systems can be supplemented with diacritical marks that modify pronunciation and meaning. The Economist, 3 Oct. 2019
Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2021 Both systems can be supplemented with diacritical marks that modify pronunciation and meaning. The Economist, 3 Oct. 2019 Word History
Etymology
Greek diakritikos separative, from diakrinein to distinguish, from dia- + krinein to separate — more at certain
First Known Use
1749, in the meaning defined at sense 1
diacritical
adjective
variants also diacritic
as in distinctive
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- distinctive
- dissimilar
- nonidentical
- disparate
- different
- diverse
- distinct
- other
- unlike
- distinguishable
- unrelated
- differentiable
- unalike
- discriminable
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- related
- allied
- affiliated
- kindred
- associated
- corresponding
- akin
- such
- interrelated
- connected
- parallel
- cognate
- similar
- matching
- analogous
- joined
- comparable
- correspondent
- like
- interconnected
- alike
- resembling
- connate
- resemblant
- ditto
- suchlike