How to Use distinguish in a Sentence

distinguish

verb
  • The singer's voice is what distinguishes the band.
  • The only thing that distinguishes the dogs is their bark.
  • You can't distinguish the detail from this distance.
  • I have trouble distinguishing between the two of them.
  • You should be able to distinguish fact from fantasy.
  • I have trouble distinguishing the difference between the two of them.
  • You're old enough to distinguish between fact and fantasy.
  • Its leaves, which look much like oak trees, can distinguish it and its shrub form.
    — Steve Bender, Southern Living, 21 June 2026
  • The key to distinguishing the two can be found in the small print.
    — Marnie Old, Philly.com, 2 July 2018
  • The days passed without much to distinguish one from the next.
    — Tove Ditlevsen, The New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2021
  • Howell is quick to distinguish a putting course from a putting green.
    — Georgann Yara, The Arizona Republic, 19 Nov. 2021
  • There are three key metrics here that can help distinguish this tool.
    — Joe Truini, Popular Mechanics, 24 June 2019
  • The design is distinguished by the sky-high black and white striped sole.
    — Luz García, Glamour, 8 Aug. 2025
  • So the drones could be programmed to distinguish a dog poo from, say, a rock?
    — Jeremy White, Wired, 31 May 2021
  • Before surgery, many could not distinguish the chart at all.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Rousseau distinguished two forms of self-love, amour de soi and amour-propre.
    — Anthony Gottlieb, New York Times, 21 June 2018
  • Part of the goal of the rebrand was to distinguish the beers from each other.
    — Esther Mobley, SFChronicle.com, 25 Jan. 2021
  • The gender of the mummies can be distinguished by the shape of their hands.
    — NBC News, 19 Oct. 2019
  • This prompted me to grow up very fast and to distinguish myself.
    — Marc Myers, WSJ, 1 Mar. 2022
  • It is most easily distinguished by its habit of dwelling in trees.
    — Tim MacWelch, Outdoor Life, 3 May 2023
  • What, if any, are its distinguishing marks?
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
  • How could a career so distinguished have been overlooked for so long?
    — Tim Sullivan, The Courier-Journal, 18 Jan. 2020
  • The amount of exercise did not distinguish those who lost more from those who lost less.
    — Gina Kolata, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2017
  • The odd one out is the shape with no distinguishing features.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • The black smaller eye would not be able to distinguish shapes because of the sun’s light.
    — Swapna Krishna, Smithsonian, 13 Feb. 2017
  • The species can be distinguished from channels and blues by the number of rays in the anal fin.
    — Ken Perrotte, Outdoor Life, 4 June 2026
  • Low prices and high speed are two of fast fashion’s distinguishing marks.
    — Marc Bain, Quartzy, 21 Nov. 2019
  • Gingham and plaid are both checked patterns, but they can be distinguished in a few key ways.
    — Cori Sears, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Dec. 2023
  • All black holes with the same mass and spin must be the same, with no distinguishing features.
    — Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 10 Sep. 2025
  • The text thus distinguishes between the court and the chief judge.
    — James M. McGuire, New York Daily News, 11 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'distinguish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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