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Glite Dictionary
to have the distinction

to have the distinction

4 6.9
Stand out for a special or rare quality
  • idiom
  • Formal
translation icon : tener la distinción
  • Birmingham has the distinction of being the largest environmental health office in all of Europe.

Examples

  • The market has the distinction of supplying restaurants all over the world with fresh fish.

    Blog text (17)

  • John Haslam's case study of Matthews, Illustrations of Madness (1810), has the distinction of being the first description of paranoid schizophrenia in the medical literature.

    Academic text (2016)

  • Only one man in history has the distinction of being among the ten oldest people who ever lived.

    Blog text (24)

  • I grew up in Pennsylvania, and I have the distinction of having been born on a farm.

  • I have the distinction of having more college credits than any other local.

    Cold Ones (2007)

  • Estimates of the number of child workers range from 70 million to 100 million, with India having the distinction of having half the world's child workers.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Zaslow's Darnell has the distinction of being the first Enterprise crew member to die on the series.

    Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

  • Vasari's Correggio has the distinction of being the first artist in Lombardy to work in the modern style.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Launched 35 years ago on January 25, 1980 (as a program block on Nickelodeon), BET has the distinction of being the most prominent television network targeting African American audiences and currently reaches more than 88 million households.

    Academic text (2016)

  • By the way, I have the distinction of being the first actor to appear on that new stage.

Synonyms

to stand out
vsto have the distinction
244 3.2

To be easy to notice because you are different or better

is used to stress recognized uniqueness in many situations
to stand out in a crowd
vsto have the distinction
3 3.1

Make people notice you in a group

is broader, applying to recognized uniqueness beyond only social groups

Antonyms

ordinary
683 1.0

Normal and not special or unusual

commonplace
54 3.4

Ordinary and not special or new

How Notable

renowned
69 4.1
distinguished
  • Formal
144 4.8
to have the distinction
  • Formal
4 6.9
notable
112 3.7
to be known as
∞ 1.4

Surface Forms

have the distinction infinitive
had the distinction past
had the distinction past participle
having the distinction present participle
has the distinction third person singular

Morphology

have + the + distinction

The meaning is directly compositional: 'have' (to possess) plus 'distinction' (a recognized difference or notable quality) yields 'to possess a recognized/ notable difference.' The structure 'have the distinction (of ...)' follows a regular possession + nominal pattern and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

The phrase have the distinction may come from the image of giving a ribbon or badge as a distinction, so one thing has a mark that makes it stand out from the rest. So, to 'have the distinction' means 'to be known as different or special'.