distinguish（DifferentiatingBetweenDistinguishandDifferentiate）

DifferentiatingBetweenDistinguishandDifferentiate

TheMeaningofDistinguish

Distinguishisaverbthatisoftenusedtoindicatetheabilitytorecognizethedifferencebetweentwoormorethings.Inotherwords,itisawayofidentifyingorseparatingonethingfromanother.Whenwesaysomeoneisdistinguished,wemeanthattheyaresetapartfromothersinsomewaywhichmakesthemspecialorunique.Thiscanapplytopeople,objects,orideas.

ExamplesofHowtoUseDistinguish:

-Canyoudistinguishbetweenthetwocolorsoftheshirt?
-Theprofessor'sdistinguishedreputationintheacademicworldiswell-known.
-Shewasabletodistinguishtheuniquefeaturesofthepaintingthatothershadoverlooked.

TheMeaningofDifferentiate

Differentiateisalsoaverb,butitisusedtoindicatehowtwoormorethingsaredistinctfromeachother.Itisawayofshowingthedifferencesbetweenthings.Whenwedifferentiatebetweenthings,wearemakingacomparisonbetweentheminordertobetterunderstandhowtheyareseparate.

ExamplesofHowtoUseDifferentiate:

-Howdoyoudifferentiatebetweenthesetwospeciesofplants?
-Thekeytosuccessinbusinessisbeingabletodifferentiateyourselffromthecompetition.
-Theteacherhastomakethelessonplansexcitinginordertodifferentiatebetweenthevariouslearningstylesofthestudents.

TheDifferenceBetweenDistinguishandDifferentiate

Themaindifferencebetweendistinguishanddifferentiateisthatdistinguishfocusesonrecognizingandidentifyingdifferenceswhiledifferentiatefocusesoncomparingandcontrastingdifferences.Distinguishemphasizesseparatingonethingfromanotherwhiledifferentiateemphasizesunderstandingtheuniquequalitiesofeachthing.

Anotherdifferencebetweenthesetwoverbsisthatdistinguishisoftenusedwhenwewanttoshowhowsomethingorsomeoneisspecialoruniquewhiledifferentiateisusedwhenwewanttoshowhowthingsaredifferentfromeachotherinordertobetterunderstandthem.

Inconclusion,whiledistinguishanddifferentiatearebothverbsthatdealwiththedifferencesbetweenthings,theyhaveslightlydifferentmeaningsandareusedindifferentcontexts.Understandingthesedifferenceswillhelpyouusethemcorrectlyandeffectivelyinyourwritingandcommunication.