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Glite Dictionary
to know apart

to know apart

3.2
To tell the difference between two similar people or things
  • phrasal verb
  • /noʊ əˈpɑrt/
  • Archaic
translation icon : distinguir
  • It is difficult to know apart the various species of butterflies without a guide.

Examples

  • After spending time with her friends, I could know apart their unique personalities.

  • Can you know apart these two identical twins from their different fashion styles?

  • I'm the only person I know apart from a few lawyer friends who religiously reads the entire voter pamphlet every election cycle.

    Blog text (20)

Synonyms

to know
vsto know apart
∞ 1.0

To recognize a person or thing you have seen before

focuses on separating items by difference rather than personal familiarity
to separate
vsto know apart
225 2.3

To tell how two things are different

is about mentally recognising differences rather than physically arranging things
to distinguish
vsto know apart
177 3.1

To notice differences between things or people

is a general act of recognizing differences without extra formality
to differentiate
vsto know apart
71 4.4

To show or notice how things are different

focuses only on recognising differences, not on changing them
to tell apart
vsto know apart
41 3.0

To notice a difference between two similar things

is broader and applies to recognizing differences in many contexts
to discriminate
vsto know apart
31 4.2

To notice small differences between things

is about general recognizing of differences rather than subtle perception

Antonyms

to confuse
142 1.9

Think one person or thing is another by mistake

to mistake
95 2.6

To think one person or thing is another

How Distinguishable

to know apart
  • Archaic
3.2
to distinguish
177 3.1
to notice
∞ 1.0
to mix up
  • Informal
65 2.7

Surface Forms

know apart infinitive
knowing apart present participle
knows apart third person singular
knew apart past
known apart past participle

Morphology

know + apart

The sense 'to recognize or distinguish' is partially derivable from 'know' (recognize) plus 'apart' (separated), so a learner could infer a relation to distinguishing. However, 'know apart' is not a common verb+particle pattern in English (speakers use 'tell apart'), so the combination is not fully predictable or standard and may therefore confuse B1 learners.

Etymology

Know apart paints a simple picture: you take two very similar things and move them apart so you can look closely and know which is which. Because you separate and compare them like that, the phrase means 'to recognize' or 'to tell apart'.