Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

distinctive

/dɪˈstɪŋktɪv/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.00 in modern English

Syllables: dis-tinc-tive
IPA: /dɪˈstɪŋktɪv/

17

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Distinguishing, used to or enabling the distinguishing of some thing.

adj

Discriminating, discerning, having the ability to distinguish between things.

adj

Characteristic, typical.

adj

Distinguished, being distinct in character or position.

adj

Used to separate clauses in place of stops.

adj

Distinguishing a particular sense of word.

noun

A distinctive thing: a quality or property permitting distinguishing; a characteristic.

noun

A distinctive accent.

Example Sentences

"a product in distinctive packaging"
"Our Apparell was giuen vs as a signe distinctiue to discern betwixt sex and sex."
"[…]more judicious and distinctive heads..."
"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."
"The refugees... at length ceased to exist as a distinctive body among the people."

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.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: distinctus

Inflected Forms

more distinctive (comparative) most distinctive (superlative) distinctives (plural)

Derived Forms

biodistinctive counterdistinctive distinctively distinctiveness indistinctive nondistinctive undistinctive

Phrases

distinctive feature distinctive paper

Frequently Paired Words

contradistinctive distinct distinction distinguish distinguishable distinguishness

Synonyms

typical classifiable

Rhymes With

instinctive

Questions

How do you pronounce distinctive?: The recorded pronunciation is /dɪˈstɪŋktɪv/.
What does distinctive mean?: Distinguishing, used to or enabling the distinguishing of some thing.
Where does distinctive come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce distinctive

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