noun
1 clear difference
ADJECTIVE
▪ critical , crucial , important , key , main , major , vital
▪ basic , essential , fundamental
▪ clear , clear-cut , obvious , real , rigid , sharp , strong
▪ fine , subtle
▪
It was a subtle ~ but a very important one.
▪ broad , general
▪ simple
▪ logical
▪ meaningful , significant , useful , valid
▪ arbitrary , artificial , false , meaningless
▪ absolute
▪
Is there always an absolute ~ between right and wrong?
▪ conventional , old , traditional
▪
the conventional ~ between pure and applied science
▪ categorical , conceptual , formal , qualitative , semantic , theoretical
▪ legal , moral
▪ class , cultural , gender , racial , social
VERB + DISTINCTION
▪ draw , make
▪
She draws an important ~ between the different kinds of illness.
▪ note , recognize , see , understand
▪
We can see a sharp ~ between ambition and greed.
▪ blur , collapse , erase ( esp. AmE ), obscure
▪
The ~ between amateur and professional players is being blurred.
DISTINCTION + VERB
▪ lie
▪
Cultural ~s lie at the heart of these issues.
▪ exist
▪
No legal ~ existed between cities and other corporations.
PREPOSITION
▪ without ~
▪
All groups are entitled to this money without ~ (= without a difference being made between them) .
▪ ~ between
▪ ~ of
▪
a society without ~s of class and privilege
2 excellence/fame
ADJECTIVE
▪ considerable , great
▪ dubious
▪ rare
▪ unique
▪ academic , intellectual , professional , social
▪
Election to the NAE is an indication of professional ~.
VERB + DISTINCTION
▪ have
▪
He has the dubious ~ of being the world's most famous gangster.
▪ achieve , earn
▪
She achieved ~ in several fields of scholarship.
DISTINCTION + VERB
▪ belong
▪
New York does not have the nation's oldest subway system; that ~ belongs to Boston.
PREPOSITION
▪ of ~
▪
She is a historian of great ~.
▪ with ~
▪
He served with ~ in the First World War.