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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

distinctive

/dɪˈstɪŋktɪv/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:03
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What does distinctive mean?

adjective

  1. Distinguishing, used to or enabling the distinguishing of some thing.
  2. Characteristic, typical.
  3. Used to separate clauses in place of stops.
More meanings (6)

adjective

  1. Distinguishing a particular sense of word.
  2. (rare) Discriminating, discerning, having the ability to distinguish between things.
  3. (rare) Distinguished, being distinct in character or position.

noun

  1. A distinctive thing: a quality or property permitting distinguishing; a characteristic.
  2. A distinctive accent.
  3. A distinctive belief, tenet, or dogma of a denomination or sect.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/dɪˈstɪŋktɪv/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Usually in cities each street has its distinctive color, and only now and then do the colors meet in close proximity.
W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt) Du BoisThe Souls of Black FolkProject Gutenberg ebook #408
Nothing, nevertheless, could be more unlike a wail than the most distinctive cry whereon the child of man catches his first breath.
Alice MeynellThe ChildrenProject Gutenberg ebook #2012
More book examples (1)
But what is distinctive of Kant is the way in which he apportions the shares of ourselves and the physical object respectively.
Bertrand RussellThe Problems of PhilosophyProject Gutenberg ebook #5827