distinct

English

Etymology

From Middle English distincte, from Old French, from Latin distinctus, past participle of distinguere (“to distinguish”); see distinguish.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪˈstɪŋkt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪŋkt

Adjective

distinct (comparative distincter or more distinct, superlative distinctest or most distinct)

1. Capable of being perceived very clearly.

   Her voice was distinct despite the heavy traffic.

   • 2013 July-August, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist:

     The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.

2. Different from one another (with the preferable adposition being "from").

   Horses are distinct from zebras.

   • 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 13, in Well Tackled!‎:

     “Yes, there are two distinct sets of footprints, both wearing rubber shoes—one I think ordinary plimsolls, the other goloshes,” replied the sergeant.

3. Noticeably different from others; distinctive.

   Olga's voice is quite distinct because of her accent.

4. Separate in place; not conjunct or united; with from.
   • 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “(please specify |book=I to XVI)”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the Theater, published 1707, →OCLC:

     The intention was that the two armies which marched out together should afterward be distinct.

5. (obsolete) Distinguished; having the difference marked; separated by a visible sign; marked out; specified.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. , London: [Samuel Simmons], , →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: , London: Basil Montagu Pickering , 1873, →OCLC:

     Wherever thus created — for no place / Is yet distinct by name.

6. (obsolete) Marked; variegated.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. , London: [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 23:

     The which [place] was dight / With divers flowres distinct with rare delight.

Synonyms

• (capable of being perceived very clearly): clear, vivid; see also Thesaurus:distinct
• (different from one another): different, separate, several (obsolete)
• (noticeably different): characteristic, distinctive, prominent
• (separate in place): discrete, individual, noncontinuous, separate
• (distinguished): specified
• (marked): patterned; see also Thesaurus:marked

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "capable of being perceived very clearly"): confusing, indistinct; see also Thesaurus:indistinct
• (antonym(s) of "different from one another"): same, indistinguishable

Derived terms

• distinctly
• distinctness

Related terms

• distinction
• distinctive
• distinguish
• distinguished
• distinguishable
• distinguishness
• extinct

Translations

Verb

distinct (third-person singular simple present distincts, present participle distincting, simple past and past participle distincted)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To distinguish; to make a distinction.
   • 1788, James McHenry, letter to George Washington, 27 July, in The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections 1788–1790, vol. 2, ed. Gordon DenBoer, University of Wisconsin Press, 1984, page 109:

     Here every means is made use of to do away all distincting between federal and antifederal and I suspect with no very friendly design to the federal cause.

Further reading

• “distinct”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “distinct”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin distinctus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dis.tɛ̃/, /dis.tɛ̃kt/
• Homophones: distincts (general), distincte, distinctes (form 2)

Adjective

distinct (feminine distincte, masculine plural distincts, feminine plural distinctes)

1. distinct; discrete (separate, distinguished, different)

Related terms

• distinguer

Further reading

• “distinct”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French distinct, Latin distinctus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /disˈtinkt/

Adjective

distinct m or n (feminine singular distinctă, masculine plural distincți, feminine and neuter plural distincte)

1. distinct

Declension

Related terms

• distinctiv
• distincție
• distinge

Further reading

• distinct in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)