distinguish

discern, discriminate, distinguish

这些动词均有“区别、辨别”之意。
discern: 语义较笼统，着重精深与准确的观察力，不一定有能力辨别关系密切的各项事物。
discriminate: 语气强，指从十分相似的事物中辨出差异，尤其把好坏区分开来。
distinguish: 普通用词，指辨别者的能力或实际观察到的区别，强调辨别所需的技巧。

动词 distinguish:

1. mark as different
   同义词：separate, differentiate, secern, secernate, severalize, severalise, tell, tell apart
2. detect with the senses
   同义词：recognize, recognise, discern, pick out, make out, tell apart
3. be a distinctive feature, attribute, or trait; sometimes in a very positive sense
   同义词：mark, differentiate
4. make conspicuous or noteworthy
   同义词：signalize, signalise
5. identify as in botany or biology, for example
   同义词：identify, discover, key, key out, describe, name

1. Speeches distinguish human beings from animals.
   人类和动物的区别在于人会说话。
2. She distinguished herself by her coolness and bravery.
   她因头脑冷静、敢作敢为而为人称道。
3. The twins were so much alike that it was impossible to distinguish one from the other.
   这对孪生子像得使人无法分辨。
4. He distinguished himself by his courage.
   他因英勇而扬名。

dis.tin.guish

v.（动词）
dis.tin.guished,dis.tin.guish.ing,dis.tin.guish.es
v.tr.（及物动词）
To perceive as being different or distinct.
区分，辨别，分清：感觉到不同的或有区别的
To perceive distinctly; discern:
辨别出；识别：
例句：
distinguished the masts of ships on the horizon.
在地平线上发现许多船的桅杆

To make noticeable or different; set apart.
引人注目，有别于；引起注意
To cause (oneself) to be eminent or recognized:
使杰出，使著名：
例句：
They have distinguished themselves as dedicated social workers.
他们作为全心全意的社会工作者而出人头地

v.intr.（不及物动词）
To perceive or indicate differences; discriminate:
区分，辨别；分清：
例句：
distinguish between right and wrong.
辨别是非

来源：
Alteration of obsolete distingue
废语 distingue的变化
from Middle English distinguen
源自 中古英语 distinguen
from Old French distinguer
源自 古法语 distinguer
from Latin distinguere [to separate] * see steig-
源自 拉丁语 distinguere [分开，使分离] *参见 steig-

【引伸】
distin.guishable
adj.（形容词）
distin.guishably
adv.（副词）