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Distinctiveness

[dih-stingk-tiv]

Origin

adjective

serving to distinguish; characteristic; distinguishing: the distinctive stripes of the zebra.

having a special quality, style, attractiveness, etc.; notable.

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

Related forms

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

Can be confused: distinctive, distinguishable, distinguished.

Synonyms
1. individual.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Distinctiveness

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Distinctiveness is always a great word to know.

So is zedonk. Does it mean:

the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

distinctive (dɪˈstɪŋktɪv)

—*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
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

distinctive

"markedly individual," 1580s; from distinct + -ive. Related: Distinctively.

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"The work of adult life is not easy. As in childhood, each step presents not only new tasks of development but requires a letting go of the techniques that worked before. With each passage some magic must be given up, some cherished illusion of safety and comfortably familiar sense of self must be cast off, to allow for the greater expansion of our distinctiveness."

-Gail Sheehy

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