{
    "term": "distinction",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "academic": true,
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "c1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "a clear difference or contrast especially between people or things that are similar or related",
            "sensetop": "distinction (between A and B)",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "distinctions between traditional and modern societies"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Philosophers did not use to **make a distinction** between arts and science."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We need to **draw a distinction** between the two events."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Cultural distinctions lie at the heart of these issues."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Is there always an absolute distinction between right and wrong?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "It was a subtle distinction but a very important one."
                },
                {
                    "text": "No legal distinction existed between cities and other corporations."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She draws an important distinction between the different kinds of illness."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The distinction between amateur and professional players is being blurred."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We can see a sharp distinction between ambition and greed."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a society without distinctions of class and privilege"
                },
                {
                    "text": "making invidious distinctions between the ‘deserving’ and the ‘undeserving’ poor"
                },
                {
                    "text": "the conventional distinction between pure and applied science"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She tends to blur the distinctions between family and friends."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We need to draw a distinction between democratic socialism and social democracy."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["critical", "crucial", "important"],
                "verb + distinction": ["draw", "make", "note"],
                "distinction + verb": ["lie", "exist"],
                "preposition": [
                    "without distinction",
                    "distinction between",
                    "distinction of"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "the act of separating people or things into different groups",
            "sensetop": "distinction (between A and B)without distinction",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The new law **makes no distinction** between adults and children *(= treats them equally)*.",
                    "contextForm": "distinction (between A and B)"
                },
                {
                    "text": "All groups are entitled to this money without distinction.",
                    "contextForm": "without distinction"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "the quality of being something that is special",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She **had the distinction of** being the first woman to fly the Atlantic."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Fennel leaves add distinction to any dish."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Though they fought with distinction, they suffered heavy casualties."
                },
                {
                    "text": "New York does not have the nation's oldest subway system; that distinction belongs to Boston."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Wearing the county tie was a mark of modest social distinction."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["considerable", "great", "dubious"],
                "verb + distinction": ["have", "achieve", "earn"],
                "distinction + verb": ["belong"],
                "preposition": ["of distinction", "with distinction"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "the quality of being excellent or important",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "a writer of distinction"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She is a historian of great distinction."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She achieved distinction in several fields of scholarship."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The cast performed with some distinction."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Election to the NAE is an indication of professional distinction."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He served with distinction in the First World War."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["considerable", "great", "dubious"],
                "verb + distinction": ["have", "achieve", "earn"],
                "distinction + verb": ["belong"],
                "preposition": ["of distinction", "with distinction"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "a special mark or award that is given to somebody, especially a student, for excellent work",
            "sensetop": "with distinction",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Naomi got a distinction in maths."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He graduated with distinction.",
                    "contextForm": "with distinction"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "a point that somebody wants to suggest is a difference when in fact it is not different at all",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "His government did not brand them terrorists, but rather ‘an entity that supports terrorism’. That may prove to be a distinction without a difference."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/dɪˈstɪŋkʃn/",
                "audio": "di/distinction/distinction__gb_2.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/dɪˈstɪŋkʃn/",
                "audio": "di/distinction/distinction__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Middle English (in the sense ‘subdivision, category’): via Old French from Latin distinctio(n-), from the verb distinguere, from dis- ‘apart’ + stinguere ‘put out’."
}