What is the difference between separate and distinct?
separate | distinct | Synonyms |
Apart from (the rest); not connected to or attached to (anything else).
Not together (with); not united (to).
To divide (a thing) into separate parts.
To disunite something from one thing; To disconnect.
* Dryden
* Bible, Romans viii. 35
To cause (things or people) to be separate.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=David Simpson
, volume=188, issue=26, page=36, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= To divide itself into separate pieces or substances.
(obsolete) To set apart; to select from among others, as for a special use or service.
* Bible, Acts xiii. 2
(usually, in the plural) Anything that is sold by itself, especially an article of clothing.
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
Distinct is a synonym of separate.
In obsolete terms the difference between separate and distinct
is that separate is to set apart; to select from among others, as for a special use or service while distinct is marked; variegated.As adjectives the difference between separate and distinct
is that separate is apart from (the rest); not connected to or attached to (anything else) while distinct is capable of being perceived very clearly.As a verb separate
is to divide (a thing) into separate parts.As a noun separate
is anything that is sold by itself, especially an article of clothing.separate
English
Adjective
(-)- This chair can be disassembled into five separate pieces.
- I try to keep my personal life separate from work.
Verb
(separat)- From the fine gold I separate the alloy.
- Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Fantasy of navigation, passage=It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: […]; […]; or perhaps to muse on the irrelevance of the borders that separate nation states and keep people from understanding their shared environment.}}
- Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
Derived terms
* separable * separately * separation * separational * separationism * separationistAntonyms
* annex * combineSee also
* disunite * disconnect * divide * split * reduce * subtractNoun
(en noun)Usage notes
* The spelling is (separate). *(term) is a common misspelling.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.