Distinct vs Specific - What's the difference?
distinct | specific |
Capable of being perceived very clearly.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=
, title= Different from one another (with the preferable adposition being "from").
* {{quote-book, year=1928, author=Lawrence R. Bourne, title=Well Tackled!
, chapter=13 Noticeably different from others; distinctive.
Separate in place; not conjunct or united; with from .
* Clarendon
(obsolete) Distinguished; having the difference marked; separated by a visible sign; marked out; specified.
* Milton
(obsolete) Marked; variegated.
* Spenser
explicit or definite
(sciences) Pertaining to a species.
*2008 , (Richard Dawkins), The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing , Oxford 2009, p. 3:
*:Science and literature, then, are the two achievements of Homo sapiens that most convincingly justify the specific name.
(taxonomy) pertaining to a taxon at the rank of species
special, distinctive or unique
intended for, or applying to a particular thing
being a remedy for a particular disease
* Coleridge
(immunology) limited to a particular antibody or antigen
(physics) of a value divided by mass (e.g. specific orbital energy)
(physics) similarly referring to a value divided by any measure which acts to standardize it (e.g. thrust specific fuel consumption, referring to fuel consumption divided by thrust)
(physics) a measure compared with a standard reference value by division, to produce a ratio without unit or dimension (e.g. specific refractive index is a pure number, and is relative to that of air)
A distinguishing attribute or quality.
Something particularly adapted for a particular use, as a remedy for a particular disorder
Specification
(in the plural) The details; particulars.
As adjectives the difference between distinct and specific
is that distinct is capable of being perceived very clearly while specific is explicit or definite.As a noun specific is
a distinguishing attribute or quality.distinct
English
Adjective
(en adjective)Fenella Saunders
Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.}}
citation, passage=“Yes, there are two distinct sets of footprints, both wearing rubber shoes—one I think ordinary plimsolls, the other goloshes,” replied the sergeant.}}
- The intention was that the two armies which marched out together should afterward be distinct .
- Wherever thus created — for no place / Is yet distinct by name.
- The which [place] was dight / With divers flowers distinct with rare delight.
Synonyms
* prominent * separate * several (in dated sense)Antonyms
* indistinct * (capable of being perceived very clearly) confusing * (different from one another) sameExternal links
* * ----specific
English
Alternative forms
* specifick (obsolete)Adjective
(en adjective)- Quinine is a specific medicine in cases of malaria.
- In fact, all medicines will be found specific in the perfection of the science.