də̇ˈstiŋ(k)t adjective
( often -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin distinctus, past participle of distinguere to distinguish — more at distinguish
1.
a. obsolete : discriminated by a visible sign : marked out : distinguished
b. : characterized by qualities individualizing or distinguishing as apart from, unlike, or not identical with another or others
things similar in effect but wholly distinct in motive — Hilaire Belloc
2. : capable of being easily perceived: as
a. : capable of being readily seen, felt, or heard through sharp, clear, unmistakable impression : not blurred, obscured, or indefinite
the slender and fragile tracery that must be preserved unventilated and distinct — B.N.Cardozo
her last death shriek distinct among a thousand — William Wordsworth
b. : capable of being easily grasped or comprehended by the mind because of clear cogent appearance or presentation
a promise that Mr. Nicholls should have a distinct refusal — Virginia Woolf
left us with a clear and distinct idea of human nature — Times Literary Supplement
3. archaic : notably marked or decorated
4.
a. : notable , unusual
so overrun with camera'ed foreigners that it is a distinct achievement to get an unencumbered photo — William Petersen
b. : unequivocal , unquestionable
a distinct liberal
hot, dry summers … with drought a distinct possibility — W.B.Johnston & I.Crkvencic
Synonyms:
separate , several , discrete : these words agree in referring to two or more things not the same or not blended or united. distinct is likely to stress characteristics that distinguish or that indicate that the thing modified is apart from or different from others
probably to Guido de Bres … the Dutch Reformed Church owed the beginning of its sturdy life, and that it did not become a mere limb of either the French Calvinistic, or German Reformed body, but grew as a “shield and blessing to both” with a distinct and rooted life of its own — J.L.Motley
Mrs. Yeobright, who, possessing two distinct moods in close contiguity, a gentle mood and an angry, flew from one to the other without the least warning — Thomas Hardy
Often interchangeable with distinct , separate may stress lack of connection or difference in identity between two things
a part of the citizens seceded from the main body, and formed a separate community on the neighboring marshes — W.H.Prescott
this rupture of the supposed continuity of nature and the reestablishment of ethics and aesthetics as separate and autonomous realms — J.W.Krutch
she had a command of hand, a nicety and force of touch, which is an endowment separate from pictorial genius, though indispensable to its exercise — Nathaniel Hawthorne
In older, archaic, or formal English several may also indicate distinctness, difference, or separation from similar items
her knowledge of three several tongues — Elinor Wylie
a network of concrete highways upon the several states — W.H.Hamilton
discrete forcefully stresses individuality and lack of connection despite apparent similarities
discrete quantity consists of the separate and unjointed units. Continuous quantity resists and even defies description in terms of disjunct ultimate units — Josiah Royce
the conclusion that gases are made up of discrete units (molecules) — Lancelot Hogben
by confining his operations to those aspects of reality which had, so to say, market value, and by isolating and dismembering the corpus of experience, the physical scientist created a habit of mind favorable to discrete practical inventions — Lewis Mumford
Synonym: see in addition evident .