1
as in to differentiate
to understand or point out the difference in
even at such a young age, he could distinguish the calls of various birds
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to characterize
to be an important feature of
a collection of recipes distinguished by their ease and simplicity
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to identify
to find out or establish the identity of
learned at an early age to distinguish the sound of a piano in an orchestra
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to notice
to make note of (something) through the use of one's eyes
could barely distinguish the garden gate through the mist
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in to classify
to arrange or assign according to type
on the exam we were asked to distinguish the specimens by acidity
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of distinguish
What distinguishes Union County from a standard addiction narrative is that Poulter and Centineo are flanked by nonactors, the overall effect hovering somewhere between fiction and nonfiction.
—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
1 July 2026
What distinguishes American English from its counterpart across the pond?
—
Literary Hub,
1 July 2026
Tech industry analyst Ben Bajarin said investors should distinguish between two very different kinds of compute businesses.
—
Paulina Likos,
CNBC,
1 July 2026
And this is precisely what distinguishes the constitutional question in Humphrey’s from the question in Myers.
—
George Thomas,
The Atlantic,
30 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for distinguish
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
1 July 2026
What distinguishes American English from its counterpart across the pond?
—
Literary Hub,
1 July 2026
Tech industry analyst Ben Bajarin said investors should distinguish between two very different kinds of compute businesses.
—
Paulina Likos,
CNBC,
1 July 2026
And this is precisely what distinguishes the constitutional question in Humphrey’s from the question in Myers.
—
George Thomas,
The Atlantic,
30 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for distinguish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for distinguish
Verb
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What’s even more striking is the fact that the Puerto Rican scalloped hammerheads were not only differentiated from the Northwest Atlantic population, but also showed genetic separation from populations sampled in Belize and Brazil!
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Can voters differentiate between two candidates with the same name?
Verb
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To characterize the new mode, Kyle Uckert, SHERLOC’s deputy principal investigator at NASA’s JPL, and his colleagues collected spectra from spare flight optics in their own lab.
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The standoff forces the platform to weigh compliance against a potentially expanding pattern of government control over social media — a tension that has also characterized India’s years-long friction with X over content-takedown orders.
Verb
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Hiltz competes in women’s events, but identifies as non-binary and transgender, using they/them pronouns.
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Othram has said Idaho State Police Forensic Services, Moscow police and the FBI teamed with the company to help identify Bryan Kohberger as the suspect.
Verb
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Court documents say witnesses noticed Lopez acting strangely before the attack.
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Soon though, Shawna noticed some of Zaayer's strange behaviors — including scolding her grandson, getting upset over cleaning habits and allegedly showing them racist videos.
Verb
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The Education Department initially classified only 11 fields as professional, leaving out areas including nursing, physical therapy and education.
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Devine told me that e-bike and moped marketing is confusing and regulations keeping e-bikes safely classified are cloudy.
Verb
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The atmosphere is infectious, attracting a discerning international crowd, yacht enthusiasts, fashion aficionados, and travelers who are seeking a blend of luxury and authenticity.
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For discerning connoisseurs, Paris is the destination to find these pieces.
Verb
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Gas stations across Russia are imposing limits on purchases, CNN’s analysis found, with fuel- tracking websites popping up to guide drivers to the best spots to fill up.
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The incident happened less than a week after another child was found dead inside a car at a Plantation early learning center last Monday.
Verb
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As adult influencers dominate online fashion culture, and tweens and teens see the same content as adults, there are fewer spaces for young people to develop styles of their own.
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Messi was trying to get a ball away from an Algerian player when he was seen digging his cleat into the back of the player’s calf.
Cite this Entry
“Distinguish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distinguish. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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