Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb distinguish

5 senses of distinguish

Sense 1
distinguish, separate, differentiate, secern, secernate, severalize, severalise, tell, tell apart -- (mark as different; "We distinguish several kinds of maple")
       => identify, place -- (recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something; "She identified the man on the 'wanted' poster")

Sense 2
spot, recognize, recognise, distinguish, discern, pick out, make out, tell apart -- (detect with the senses; "The fleeing convicts were picked out of the darkness by the watchful prison guards"; "I can't make out the faces in this photograph")

Sense 3
distinguish, mark, differentiate -- (be a distinctive feature, attribute, or trait; sometimes in a very positive sense; "His modesty distinguishes him from his peers")
       => qualify, characterize, characterise -- (describe or portray the character or the qualities or peculiarities of; "You can characterize his behavior as that of an egotist"; "This poem can be characterized as a lament for a dead lover")

Sense 4
signalize, signalise, distinguish -- (make conspicuous or noteworthy)
       => mark -- (designate as if by a mark; "This sign marks the border")

Sense 5
identify, discover, key, key out, distinguish, describe, name -- (identify as in botany or biology, for example)