dis·tinc·tive

[dih-stingk-tiv]
adjective
1.
serving to distinguish; characteristic; distinguishing: the distinctive stripes of the zebra.
2.
having a special quality, style, attractiveness, etc.; notable.

Origin:
1575–85; < Medieval Latin distinctīvus, equivalent to Latin distinct(us) distinct + -īvus -ive

dis·tinc·tive·ly, adverb
dis·tinc·tive·ness, noun
sub·dis·tinc·tive, adjective
sub·dis·tinc·tive·ly, adverb
sub·dis·tinc·tive·ness, noun

distinctive, distinguishable, distinguished.


1. individual.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Distinctive is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Collins
World English Dictionary
distinctive (dɪˈstɪŋktɪv) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
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
 
dis'tinctively
 
adv
 
dis'tinctiveness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

distinctive
"markedly individual," 1580s; from distinct + -ive. Related: Distinctively.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The online medium also makes for very distinctive, even surprising bestsellers.
It recognizes that a distinctive roofline is architecturally appropriate and
  spiritually desirable in the everyday environment.
Three days later, microscope examination of the brain slices revealed it to be
  dotted with the distinctive spindle-shaped cells.
There is also the theory that being distinctive gets you noticed.
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