distinctive

Meanings

Adjective

• Distinguishing, used to or enabling the distinguishing of some thing.
• Discriminating, discerning, having the ability to distinguish between things.
• Characteristic, typical.
• Distinguished, being distinct in character or position.
• Used to separate clauses in place of stops.
• Distinguishing a particular sense of word.

Noun

• A distinctive thing: a quality or property permitting distinguishing; a characteristic.
• A distinctive accent.
• A distinctive belief, tenet, or dogma of a denomination or sect.

Origin

• From Latin distinctus, perfect passive participle of distinguo, + -ive. Cognate with French distinctif and Medieval Latin distinctivus.