distinctive indicates qualities distinguishing and uncommon and often superior or praiseworthy.

DISTINCTIVE definition: serving to distinguish; characteristic; distinguishing: distinguishing. See examples of distinctive used in a sentence.

DISTINCTIVE definition: 1. Something that is distinctive is easy to recognize because it is different from other things…. Learn more.

Something that is distinctive has special qualities that make it easily recognizable.

1. serving to distinguish; characteristic; distinguishing: the zebra's distinctive stripes. 2. having a special quality, style, attractiveness, etc.; notable. 3. Ling. serving to distinguish meanings. dis•tinc′tive•ness, n.

Definition of distinctive adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

Jan 14, 2026 · Noun distinctive (plural distinctives) A distinctive thing: a quality or property permitting distinguishing; a characteristic.

Distinctive definition: Serving to identify; distinguishing or characteristic.

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025 dis•tinc•tive /dɪˈstɪŋktɪv/ adj. serving to distinguish: the zebra's distinctive stripes. dis•tinc•tive•ly, adv.: his …

DISTINCTIVE meaning: 1 : having a quality or characteristic that makes a person or thing different from others different in a way that is easy to notice; 2 : appealing or interesting because of an unusual …