Distinguish [V Dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ People Distinguished Distinguishing Somebody/Something Verb
The flashcard explains that "distinguish" means to tell or recognize the difference between things, to be a characteristic that differentiates, to perceive something subtle, or to make oneself stand out.
[VERB 动词]区分；辨别；分清 If you can distinguish one thing from another or distinguish between two things, you can see or understand how they are different.
[V n from n]
[V between pl-n]
[V pl-n]
Could he distinguish right from wrong?...
他能分辨是非吗？
Research suggests that babies learn to see by distinguishing between areas of light and dark...
研究表明婴儿通过辨别光亮和黑暗的区域来学会看东西。
It is necessary to distinguish the policies of two successive governments.
分清前后两届政府的政策很有必要。
2
[VERB 动词](特质或特征)使有别于 A feature or quality that distinguishes one thing from another causes the two things to be regarded as different, because only the first thing has the feature or quality.
[V n from n]
[V-ing]
There is something about music that distinguishes it from all other art forms...
音乐的某种特质使其有别于所有其他艺术形式。
The bird has no distinguishing features.
这只鸟没有明显的特征。
3
[VERB 动词]看出；听出；辨别出 If you can distinguish something, you can see, hear, or taste it although it is very difficult to detect.
[V n]
[FORMAL 正式]
There were cries, calls. He could distinguish voices.
有哭声、喊声——他能听出不同的声音。
4
[VERB 动词]使出名；使受青睐 If you distinguish yourself, you do something that makes you famous or important.
[V pron-refl as n]
[V pron-refl]
Over the next few years he distinguished himself as a leading constitutional scholar...
在接下来的几年里，他作为一名宪法研究领域最杰出的学者而声名远扬。
They distinguished themselves at the Battle of Assaye.
他们在阿瑟耶之战中一战成名。
Oxford
dis·tin·guish★/dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ; NAmEdɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ/verb1★[intransitive , transitive ]to recognize the difference between two people or things 区分；辨别；分清SYN
differentiate
distinguishbetween 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？distinguishA 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。distinguishA and B ◆Sometimes reality and fantasy are hard to distinguish.有时候现实和幻想很难区分。2★[transitive ]( not used in the progressive tenses 不用于进行时) distinguishA (from B) 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。◆Does your cat have any distinguishing marks?你的猫有什么特殊斑纹吗？3[transitive ]( not used in the progressive tenses 不用于进行时) distinguishsth to be able to see or hear sth 看清；认出；听出SYN
differentiate
,make out◆I could not distinguish her words, but she sounded agitated.我听不清她说的话，但听得出她很激动。4[transitive ]distinguishyourself (as sth) to do sth so well that people notice and admire you 使出众；使著名；使受人青睐◆She has already distinguished herself as an athlete.作为运动员她已享有盛名。▶dis·tin·guish·able/dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃəbl; NAmEdɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃəbl/adjectivedistinguishable(from sb/sth) ◆The male bird is easily distinguishable from the female.这种鸟很容易辨认雌雄。◆The coast was barely distinguishable in the mist.在雾中很难看清海岸。distinguishdistinguishesdistinguisheddistinguishingdis·tin·guish/dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ; NAmEdɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ/dis·tin·guish·able/dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃəbl; NAmEdɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃəbl/
1[intransitive, transitive] to recognize and understand the difference between two or more things or peopleSYN differentiatedistinguish between His attorney argued that Cope could not distinguish between right and wrong.distinguish somebody/something from a method of distinguishing cancer cells from normal tissue► see thesaurus at
recognize
RegisterIn everyday English, people usually use the phrases tell the difference between somebody/something or tell somebody/something from somebody/something, rather than distinguish:· He can’t tell the difference between right and wrong.· How do you tell cancer cells from healthy cells?2[transitive not in progressive] to be the thing that makes someone or something different or specialdistinguish somebody/something from The factor that distinguishes this company from the competition is customer service.distinguishing feature/mark/characteristic The main distinguishing feature of this species is the leaf shape.3[transitive not in progressive] written to be able to see the shape of something or hear a particular sound: The light was too dim for me to distinguish anything clearly.4distinguish yourself to do something so well that people notice and remember you: He distinguished himself on several occasions in the civil war.