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A lightweight JavaScript package for English word definitions and collections.
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{
"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’."
}