distinction

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)That which distinguishes; a single occurrence of a determining factor or feature, the fact of being divided; separation, discrimination.

   “The proper course for me, gentlemen of the jury, is to deal first with the earliest charges that have been falsely brought against me, and with my earliest accursers; and then with the later ones. I make this distinction because […]”

2. (countable, uncountable)The act of distinguishing, discriminating; discrimination.

   “There is a distinction to be made between resting and slacking.”

   “We must always make a distinction that right versus wrong is different from legal and illegal.”

   “In spite of these qualifications, the broad distinction between instinct and habit is undeniable. To take extreme cases, every animal at birth can take food by instinct, before it has had opportunity to learn; on the other hand, no one can ride a bicycle by instinct, though, after learning, the necessary movements become just as automatic as if they were instinctive.”

   “But, for practical purposes, it is possible to draw a distinction between a statement of facts observed and an expression of opinion as to the inference to be drawn from these facts, and the rule telling witnesses to state facts and not express opinions is of great value in keeping their statements out of the region of argument and conjecture.”

   “This reflects a longtime distinction between "good Jews" and "international Jews," drawn in a 1920 article by Winston Churchill, which put in the "good category" "national Jews" assimilated into British culture and Zionist Jews in Palestine, and into the malevolent one those who fueled "this world-wide conspiracy for the overthrow of civilization."”

3. (countable, uncountable)A feature that causes someone or something to stand out from others of its type.
4. (countable, specifically, uncountable)A feature that causes someone or something to stand out from others of its type.

   “She had the distinction of meeting the Queen.”

   “Mother[…]considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due not to its distinction, but to the fact that it was an inner Babylon of prodigality and whoredom, from which every Kensingtonian held aloof, except on the conventional tip-and-run excursions in pursuit of shopping, tea and theatres.”

   “Leighton Baines, playing with distinction again, sent over a left-wing cross with pace and accuracy. Welbeck, prominently involved all night, could not reach it but Rooney was directly behind him, flashing his header past Szczesny.”