distinguish
verbVerb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they distinguish | |
| he / she / it distinguishes | |
| past simple distinguished | |
| past participle distinguished | |
| -ing form distinguishing |
- [intransitive, transitive]
to recognize the difference between two people or things 区分；辨别；分清 - distinguish between A and B
At what age are children able to distinguish between right and wrong? 儿童到什么年龄才能明辨是非？ English law clearly distinguishes between murder and manslaughter. 英国法律明确区分谋杀和过失杀人。 - distinguish A from B
It was hard to distinguish one twin from the other. 很难分辨出一对孪生儿谁是谁。 - distinguish A and B
Sometimes reality and fantasy are hard to distinguish. 有时候现实和幻想很难区分。 We can distinguish five meanings of the word ‘mad’. 我们可以区分“mad”这个词的五种含义。
Extra ExamplesIt is often difficult to distinguish clearly between fact and fiction in this book. 读这本书经常很难分辨其中的真实和虚构内容。 She could not distinguish one child from another. 她无法把这两个孩子区分开。 Small children have difficulty distinguishing fiction from reality. 小孩子难以将虚构与真实区别开。 Troops cannot always reliably distinguish between combatants and civilians. 军队并不总能准确地区分作战人员和平民百姓。 Retailers should distinguish clearly between full-price and sale items. 零售商应该清楚地区分全价商品和特价商品。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- clearly
- sharply
- carefully
- …
- be able to
- can
- could
- …
- between
- from
- have difficulty distinguishing
- have difficulty in distinguishing
- have trouble distinguishing
- …
- distinguish between A and B
- [transitive]
(not used in the progressive tenses 不用于进行时 to be a characteristic that makes two people, animals or things different 成为…的特征；使具有…的特色；使有别于 What was it that distinguished her from her classmates? 是什么使得她有别于班上其他同学呢？ The male bird is distinguished from the female by its red beak. 雄鸟喙红色，有别于雌鸟。 The adult bird can be readily distinguished by its orange bill. 成鸟很容易根据橘黄色喙识别出来。 Does your cat have any distinguishing marks? 你的猫有什么特殊斑纹吗？ The power of speech distinguishes human beings from animals. 语言能力使得人类有别于动物。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- clearly
- sharply
- carefully
- …
- be able to
- can
- could
- …
- between
- from
- have difficulty distinguishing
- have difficulty in distinguishing
- have trouble distinguishing
- …
- [transitive]
(not used in the progressive tenses 不用于进行时 to be able to see or hear something 看清；认出；听出 - [transitive] distinguish yourself (as something)
to do something so well that people notice and admire you 使出众；使著名；使受人青睐
Word Originlate 16th cent.: formed irregularly from French distinguer or Latin distinguere, from dis- ‘apart’ + stinguere ‘put out’ (from a base meaning ‘prick’).