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Glite Dictionary
🟦 Not unique 🔤 Not changing meaning
nondistinctive

nondistinctive

7.2
Not a feature that shows a difference between words or sounds
  • adjective
  • /ˌnɒndɪˈstɪŋktɪv/
  • Specialized
translation icon : no distintivo
  • In some languages, stress is nondistinctive and does not affect the meaning of words.

Examples

  • Vowel length is nondistinctive in this dialect, so both forms are understood the same way.

  • The sound was considered nondistinctive because it did not change the word's meaning.

  • This sound is nondistinctive.

  • Don't use nondistinctive terms in your essay!

  • In some languages, stress is nondistinctive and does not affect the meaning of words.

  • The sound was considered nondistinctive because it did not change the word's meaning.

  • Vowel length is nondistinctive in this dialect, so both forms are understood the same way.

Synonyms

indistinctive
vsnondistinctive
1 7.2

Not having clear features that make it different

focuses on absence of meaning contrast in language rather than simple lack of recognizability
noncontrastive
vsnondistinctive
  • Specialized
9.5

A speech sound that does not change word meaning

includes lack of contrast across grammatical forms as well as sounds or words
undistinctive
vsnondistinctive
  • Specialized
6.9

Not making a clear difference between sounds or words

focuses specifically on lack of meaning contrast in linguistic contexts
undifferenced
vsnondistinctive
8.7

Not marked with any sign that tells items apart

refers specifically to absence of contrast in meaning between linguistic units

Antonyms

distinctive
104 3.9

Has a clear look or sound that makes it different from others

How Distinctive

distinctive
104 3.9
nondistinctive
  • Specialized
7.2
noncontrastive
  • Specialized
9.5

Surface Forms

nondistinctive positive

Morphology

nondistinctive = distinctive (semi-transparent) = non + distinct + ive

Formally 'non-' + 'distinctive' is clear, but the sense here is a technical linguistic use ('not serving to distinguish'), which may not be directly inferable to learners without specialist knowledge.

Etymology

In language study, nondistinctive also breaks into non- 'not' and distinctive 'different', again like distinct, and it names a sound or form that does not change a word's meaning. So, a nondistinctive sound 'does not help to tell words apart'.