distinguish.
To recognize someone or something as different from others based on its characteristics.
Meaning & usage
To recognize someone or something as different from others based on its characteristics.
To see someone or something clearly or distinctly.
To make noticeably different or better from others through accomplishments.
The soldier distinguished himself in combat and received a medal.
To confer an honor upon.
The soldier was distinguished with a medal for his bravery.
To make to differ.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English distingwen, from Old French distinguer, from Latin distinguere (“to separate, divide, distinguish, set off, adorn, literally mark off”), from di-, dis- (“apart”) + stinguere, related to English stink. Compare extinguish.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.