Meaning & use
distinguishable
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Possible to tell apart from similar things.
Grammar: Usually followed by from: identical twins are barely distinguishable from each other.
Patterns
- distinguishable from something
- easily distinguishable
The two bird species are hardly distinguishable from a distance.
Her handwriting is easily distinguishable from her brother's.
The copy was almost indistinguishable, yet an expert could still find a distinguishable flaw.
adjectivecomparable
Clear enough to be seen, heard, or noticed.
Grammar: Often used with negatives: no distinguishable words could be heard.
Patterns
- barely distinguishable
- clearly distinguishable
Through the fog, the shoreline was just distinguishable.
No distinguishable words came through the static.
A faint path was distinguishable in the grass.
Word forms
| comparative | more distinguishable |
|---|---|
| superlative | most distinguishable |
Common combinations
- easily distinguishable
- The red jacket made him easily distinguishable in the crowd.
- barely distinguishable
- The two shades are barely distinguishable.
- clearly distinguishable
- The sound of a flute was clearly distinguishable.
- distinguishable from
- Real leather is distinguishable from the fake by its smell.
- hardly distinguishable
- The twins were hardly distinguishable.
Synonyms and how they differ
- discernible
- Discernible stresses being able to perceive something faint, while distinguishable stresses telling one thing from another.
- recognizable
- Recognizable means you know it from before, while distinguishable means you can separate it from others.
- noticeable
- Noticeable simply means easy to notice and does not imply comparison with something else.
- perceptible
- Perceptible is more formal and suggests sensing something very slight.
Opposites
Word family
- distinguish verb
- to recognize a difference
- indistinguishable adjective
- impossible to tell apart
- distinction noun
- a difference between things
- distinguished adjective
- respected for achievements
Commonly confused: distinguishable or distinctive?
distinguishable vs distinctive
Distinctive means having a special quality that makes something easy to recognize, while distinguishable means able to be told apart.
Practice
Which option best completes the sentence? The original painting is ___ from the copy only by the signature.
Choose one answer.
Distinguishable from means able to be told apart from. Distinguished means famous or respected, so it does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “distinguishable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.