Synonyms for distinguishing

6 synonyms

adjective

Most common

distinctive characteristic peculiar discriminating discriminative

All synonyms

Adjective

characteristic, distinctive, peculiar, discriminating, diagnostic, discriminative

Definitions

adj. 1
That serves to distinguish.

Choose the right word

Distinguishing, Discriminate, Separate or Abstract?

In mental processes we discriminate between objects by distinguishing their differences; we separate some one element from all that does not necessarily belong to it, abstract it, and view it alone.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

distinctive Sami decorated the place in his distinctive style.
characteristic The defiant manner is characteristic of teenagers.
peculiar The custom of bowing is peculiar to the islanders.
discriminating Discriminating against people because of their race is a mistake.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
distinguishing		steady
distinctive		rising
characteristic		falling
peculiar		falling
discriminating		falling
discriminative		steady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

8 letters: peculiar³
10 letters: diagnostic⁴
11 letters: distinctive³
14 letters: characteristic⁵, discriminating⁵, discriminative⁵

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (peculiar³ = 3 syllables).