distinct
Usage
What are other ways to say distinct?
The adjective distinct implies a uniqueness that is clear and unmistakable: plans similar in objective but distinct in method. Diverse, in describing ideas or opinions, suggests degrees of difference that may be at odds or challenging to reconcile: diverse views on how the area should be zoned. Various stresses the multiplicity of sorts or instances of a thing or a class of things: various sorts of seaweed; busy with various duties. Different emphasizes separateness and dissimilarity: two different (or differing) versions of the same story.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
However, thousands of years of genetic isolation have made the island pine a distinct subspecies, according to the National Park Service.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
There’s a distinct gap between grandfather and grandson donations.
From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026
Waiting for an IPO base to form offers a distinct timing advantage for investors.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026
"Ilaiyaraaja's arrival was a watershed moment. It was an intervention by a person from an entirely different social and aesthetic background who had imbued a distinct aural soundscape," says TM Krishna, a celebrated Carnatic musician.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
But behind that bluff facade some distinct and rather ominous changes were taking place, changes of which I was already dimly aware but which made themselves more evident as time went on.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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Vocabulary lists containing distinct
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 6
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