distinct
/dɪˈstɪŋkt/adjective
distinct is spelled D-I-S-T-I-N-C-T: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,365th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, distinct means “Capable of being perceived very clearly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in distinct?
| Letters | 8: D-I-S-T-I-N-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 19 times per million words; the 4,365th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is distinct?
Distinct appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,365th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce distinct?
- /dɪˈstɪŋkt/
Distinct has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-distinct.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of distinct
- distincter comparative
- more distinct comparative
- distinctest superlative
- most distinct superlative
- distincts present, singular, he/she/it
- distincting participle, present
- distincted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does distinct mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Capable of being perceived very clearly.
Her voice was distinct despite the heavy traffic.
- 2
Different from one another (with the preferable adposition being "from").
Horses are distinct from zebras.
- 3
Noticeably different from others; distinctive.
Olga's voice is quite distinct because of her accent.
- 4
Separate in place; not conjunct or united; with from.
- 5
obsoleteDistinguished; having the difference marked; separated by a visible sign; marked out; specified.
- 6
obsoleteMarked; variegated.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo distinguish; to make a distinction.
Here every means is made use of to do away all distincting between federal and antifederal and I suspect with no very friendly design to the federal cause.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Distinct in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | distinct, intelligible , reconnaissable |
| German | deutlich |
| Portuguese | distinto |
| Spanish | distinto |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does distinct come from?
From Middle English distincte, past participle of distincten (“to distinguish, discern”), from Old French destincter, from Latin distinctus, past participle of distinguere (“to distinguish”); see distinguish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).