Distinct Meaning
/dɪˈstɪŋkt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjCapable of being perceived very clearly.
adjDifferent from one another (with the preferable adposition being "from").
Sentence Examples
Each species has distinct characteristics.
There is a distinct possibility of rain.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The two species have ____ markings, making them easy to tell apart.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Your way of thinking is quite ____ from mine.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English distincte, past participle of distincten (“to distinguish, discern”), from Old French destincter, from Latin distinctus, past participle of distinguere (“to distinguish”); see distinguish.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 2013 July-August, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist:
"“Yes, there are two distinct sets of footprints, both wearing rubber shoes—one I think ordinary plimsolls, the other goloshes,” replied the sergeant."
— 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 13, in Well Tackled!:
"The intention was that the two armies which marched out together should afterward be distinct."
— 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 [Sheldonian] Theater:
"Wherever thus created — for no place / Is yet distinct by name."
— 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"The which [place] was dight / With divers flowres distinct with rare delight."
— 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 23:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The two species have ____ markings, making them easy to tell apart.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Your way of thinking is quite ____ from mine.