DISTINCTIVE FEATURE

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does distinctive feature mean? 

• DISTINCTIVE FEATURE (noun)
  The noun DISTINCTIVE FEATURE has 1 sense:

1. an odd or unusual characteristic

  Familiarity information: DISTINCTIVE FEATURE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DISTINCTIVE FEATURE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An odd or unusual characteristic

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

distinctive feature; distinguishing characteristic; peculiarity

Hypernyms ("distinctive feature" is a kind of...):

characteristic; feature (a prominent attribute or aspect of something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "distinctive feature"):

calling card (a distinguishing characteristic or behavior)

 Context examples 

Its most distinctive feature is its head, which is almost flat at the top, sloping evenly down to the end of the nose.

(Bull Terrier, NCI Thesaurus)

And then, of course, there is the bell—which is the most distinctive feature of the case.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)