as in characteristic
serving to identify as belonging to an individual or group
a novice birder still learning the distinguishing features of various finches
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in differentiating
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in characterizing
to be an important feature of
a collection of recipes distinguished by their ease and simplicity
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in identifying
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 noticing
to make note of (something) through the use of one's eyes
could barely distinguish the garden gate through the mist
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in classifying
to arrange or assign according to type
on the exam we were asked to distinguish the specimens by acidity
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of distinguishing
Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 27 Jan. 2026
Creating a dedicated deck for intimate meals—including formal five-course dinners prepared by the boat’s Ecuadorian chef with an all-inclusive wine and spirits menu—was central to distinguishing Hermes’s offering.
—Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 26 Jan. 2026
Opportunism did seem to be Henie’s distinguishing trait.
—Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 26 Jan. 2026
Even their games are similar, but there are a few distinguishing nuances.
—Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 24 Jan. 2026
That’s the distinguishing factor between freezing rain and sleet (ice pellets).
—Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
By clearly distinguishing material falling inward to feed the black hole from dust being pushed outward in energetic winds, the new Webb observations provide a crucial step toward understanding how supermassive black holes grow and influence their host galaxies, researchers say.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Cloudflare’s tool works as a pay-per-crawl service, distinguishing GenAI crawlers that take information without sending much traffic back to creators, from search crawlers, which actually drive traffic back to the original source.
—Bill Ready, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2026
Other clinicians have highlighted the personalized nature of the therapy as a distinguishing feature.
—Soundhealth, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2026
Verb
By distinguishing between temporary and irreversible material changes, the new monitoring method provides a great basis for improving the tests.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 27 Jan. 2026
Creating a dedicated deck for intimate meals—including formal five-course dinners prepared by the boat’s Ecuadorian chef with an all-inclusive wine and spirits menu—was central to distinguishing Hermes’s offering.
—Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 26 Jan. 2026
Opportunism did seem to be Henie’s distinguishing trait.
—Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 26 Jan. 2026
Even their games are similar, but there are a few distinguishing nuances.
—Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 24 Jan. 2026
That’s the distinguishing factor between freezing rain and sleet (ice pellets).
—Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
By clearly distinguishing material falling inward to feed the black hole from dust being pushed outward in energetic winds, the new Webb observations provide a crucial step toward understanding how supermassive black holes grow and influence their host galaxies, researchers say.
—Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Cloudflare’s tool works as a pay-per-crawl service, distinguishing GenAI crawlers that take information without sending much traffic back to creators, from search crawlers, which actually drive traffic back to the original source.
—Bill Ready, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2026
Other clinicians have highlighted the personalized nature of the therapy as a distinguishing feature.
—Soundhealth, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for distinguishing
Adjective
-
The mice with cancer remained free of the plaques characteristic of cognitive decline.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Consequently, the characteristic 'raccoon eyes' seen after rhinoplasty has become uncommon with Piezo surgery.—
Lyssanoel Frater,
Ascend Agency,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
But to Payton, once that line is satisfied, grit is a differentiating factor.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Neither film nor actor seems concerned with differentiating between reality and fiction.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Conservatives, currently led by Kemi Badenoch, slammed Braverman following her defection, characterizing her as an inevitable turncoat and questioning her mental faculties.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Federal prosecutors reportedly investigated federal contractors that consider diversity, characterizing such initiatives as fraud.—
Spencer Overton,
The Conversation,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Officers were reportedly reviewing security camera footage in the area in hopes of identifying a suspect.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Last April, the Wyn Beauty founder shared a sweet video on her Instagram with her daughter Adira, as the little one practiced identifying colors.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Or noticing that your hands feel inexplicably stiff and swollen, making simple tasks like opening a jar or even typing feel unusually difficult.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
5 Jan. 2026
-
The second witness went inside for safety, then re-emerged, noticing the brothers were fighting, court records state.—
Post-Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Cook County medical examiner’s office determined Friday both people died from a gunshot wound to the head, classifying one death a homicide and the other a suicide.—
Cam'ron Hardy,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Jan. 2026
-
In January, Mylius and colleagues released a tool that enhances the AI Incident Database by using a language model to parse the news reports associated with each incident, before classifying them by type of harm and severity.—
Harry Booth,
Time,
19 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The result was the emergence of a distinctive national cinema that speaks both to universal human experiences and to specifically Korean concerns.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
-
And in order to do that, based on what clear, distinctive competence?—
Big Think,
Big Think,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Dutch, spotting an old man approaching in a canoe, sent out a sloop to investigate.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Here’s where naming a Wall Street pro who’s a master of spotting where danger’s building may prove a hedge against a future calamity.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Distinguishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distinguishing. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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