DISTINCTIVE


Meaning of DISTINCTIVE in English

dis ‧ tinc ‧ tive AC /dɪˈstɪŋktɪv/ BrE AmE adjective

having a special quality, character, or appearance that is different and easy to recognize:

a rock band with a distinctive sound

—distinctively adverb

—distinctiveness noun [uncountable]

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THESAURUS

▪ different if something or someone is different, they are not like something or someone else, or they are not like they were before:

You look different. Have you had your hair cut?

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We’ve painted the door a different colour.

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The cultures of the two countries are very different.

▪ unique very different, special, or unusual and the only one of its kind. Don’t use words such as very before unique :

The book is certainly very rare, and possibly unique.

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the unique wildlife of the Galapagos Islands

▪ distinctive having a special feature or appearance that makes something different from other things, and makes it easy to recognize:

Male birds have distinctive blue and yellow markings.

▪ unlike [prep] completely different from a particular person or thing:

In Britain, unlike the United States, the government provides health care.

▪ have nothing in common if two people have nothing in common, they do not have the same interests or opinions and therefore cannot form a friendly relationship:

Apart from the fact that we went to the same school, we have absolutely nothing in common.

▪ there’s no/little resemblance used when saying that two people or things seem very different:

There’s no resemblance between the two sisters at all.

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The final product bore no resemblance to the original proposal (=it was very different) .

▪ dissimilar formal not the same as something else:

These four politically dissimilar states have all signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation.

▪ be like chalk and cheese British English informal if two people are like chalk and cheese, they are completely different:

It’s hard to believe that they’re brothers – they’re like chalk and cheese!

▪ be (like) apples and oranges American English informal used when saying that two people or things are very different:

You can't compare residential and commercial real estate markets. It's apples and oranges.

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Obama and Romney are apples and oranges.

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Comparing homemade soup to canned soup is really comparing apples and oranges.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.