DISTINCTIVE


Meaning of DISTINCTIVE in English

I. də̇ˈstiŋ(k)tiv, -tēv also -təv adjective

Etymology: Medieval Latin distinctivus, from Latin distinctus + -ivus -ive

1.

a. : serving to distinguish : setting apart from others : individualizing

a distinctive characteristic of the type is a tendency to procrastinate

b. : characteristic , peculiar

actions distinctive of a brutal man

a call that was almost distinctive to the catbird

the moist, salt air of the Cape is said to turn the shingles on roofs and walls to a distinctive gray — Jackson Rivers

: special

not only was homicide frequent but the tough hombres of the town added a distinctive touch in their manner of disposing of the body — American Guide Series: Texas

c. : having or giving style or distinction

a woman with a talent for wearing consistently distinctive clothes

an old distinctive residential quarter — American Guide Series: New York City

2. archaic : having the ability to distinguish : discriminating

3. phonetics , of a feature of speech : capable of making a segment of utterance different in meaning as well as in sound from an otherwise identical utterance : that makes or helps to make a speech item a phoneme rather than an allophone

4. : disjunctive 4

Synonyms: see characteristic

II. noun

( -s )

: disjunctive 2

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.