distinctive

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
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Word Origin & History

distinctive

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

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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distinguish epoch feature Hebraism horizon livery

Matching Quote

"We see us as we truly behave:
From every corner comes a distinctive offering.
The train comes bearing joy...."

-John Ashbery