Distinguish
Distinguish verb - To find out or establish the identity of.
Usage example: learned at an early age to distinguish the sound of a piano in an orchestra
Identify is a synonym for distinguish in recognise topic. In some cases you can use "Identify" instead a verb "Distinguish", when it comes to topics like name, classify, detect, characterize. popular alternative
Nearby Words: distinguishing, distinguishable
Identify
Identify verb - To find out or establish the identity of.
Usage example: sufficient forensic evidence to allow investigators to identify the perpetrator
Distinguish is a synonym for identify in recognize topic. You can use "Distinguish" instead a verb "Identify", if it concerns topics such as recognise, classify, determine. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
- mark and distinguish
- mark and identify
- recognize and distinguish
- recognize and identify
- pick out and distinguish
- pick out and identify
- name and distinguish
- name and identify
- perceive and distinguish
- perceive and identify
- place and distinguish
- place and identify
- classify and distinguish
- classify and identify
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
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Eagle Vision/Sense is the ultimate version, allowing you to identify and distinguish all important objects by colour.
Source: Franchise / Assassin's Creed - Most of them trace "moe" to an Evangelion scene with Rei in an alternate universe running to school with a piece of bread in her mouth.◊ Most interesting is how they identify the Aum Shinrikyo subway attacks as a major cause behind the rise of moe, as well as distinguish earlier types of otaku.
Source: Analysis / Moe - In fiction, however, a character having this is usually a Chekhov's Gun or is only brought up in a situation where being able to distinguish colors is vitally important, such as a Wire Dilemma or needing to identify a key object by color alone.
Source: Color Blind Confusion
Cite this Source
Identify and Distinguish. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 20, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/distinguish/identify
Distinguish & Identify. N.p., 2016. Web. 20 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/distinguish/identify>.
Identify or Distinguish. 2016. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/distinguish/identify.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "distinguish" and "identify" have occurred on timeline