The difference between Distinct and Distinctive

When used as adjectives, distinct means capable of being perceived very clearly, whereas distinctive means distinguishing, used to or enabling the distinguishing of some thing.


Distinctive is also noun with the meaning: a distinctive thing: a quality or property permitting distinguishing.

check bellow for the other definitions of Distinct and Distinctive

  1. Distinct as an adjective:

    Capable of being perceived very clearly.

    Examples:

    "Her voice was distinct despite the heavy traffic."

  2. Distinct as an adjective:

    Different from one another (with the preferable adposition being "from").

    Examples:

    "Horses are distinct from zebras."

  3. Distinct as an adjective:

    Noticeably different from others; distinctive.

    Examples:

    "Olga's voice is quite distinct because of her accent."

  4. Distinct as an adjective:

    Separate in place; not conjunct or united; with from.

  5. Distinct as an adjective (obsolete):

    Distinguished; having the difference marked; separated by a visible sign; marked out; specified.

  6. Distinct as an adjective (obsolete):

    Marked; variegated.

  1. Distinctive as an adjective:

    Distinguishing, used to or enabling the distinguishing of some thing.

    Examples:

    "a product in distinctive packaging"

  2. Distinctive as an adjective (rare):

    Discriminating, discerning, having the ability to distinguish between things.

  3. Distinctive as an adjective:

    Characteristic, typical.

    Examples:

    "his distinctive bass voice"

  4. Distinctive as an adjective (rare):

    Distinguished, being distinct in character or position.

  5. Distinctive as an adjective (Hebrew, _, grammar, of accents):

    Used to separate clauses in place of stops.

  6. Distinctive as an adjective (linguistics, of sounds):

    Distinguishing a particular sense of word.

  1. Distinctive as a noun:

    A distinctive thing: a quality or property permitting distinguishing; a characteristic.

  2. Distinctive as a noun (Hebrew, _, grammar):

    A distinctive accent.

  3. Distinctive as a noun (theology):

    A distinctive belief, tenet, or dogma of a denomination or sect.