D2. Distinguish / Drawback / Dismiss / Debatable

1. Distinguish
: If you can distinguish one thing from another or distinguish between two things, you can see or understand how they are different.
:  A feature or quality that distinguishes one thing from another causes the two things to be regarded as different, because only the first thing has the feature or quality.

ex) The parallel concepts of "jihad" and "crusade" not only resemble each other but distinguish these two faiths from other major world religions.
ex) Scientists must strive to distinguish between what they see and what they wish to see. 
ex) At what age are children able to distinguish between right and wrong?
ex) What was it that distinguished her from her classmates? 
ex) The male bird is distinguished from the female by its red beak. 
ex) Mr. Tang is a successful recruiter because he can quickly distinguish talented sales agents from the rest.

cf. distinguished: known by many people because of some quality or achievement
ex) He was the most distinguished scholar in his field. 
ex) She is distinguished for her achievements in genetic research.
ex) a distinguished career in medicine.

 

 

2. Drawback
: something that causes problems; disadvantage

: A drawback is an aspect of something or someone that makes them less acceptable than they would otherwise be.

 

ex) The main drawback to it is the cost.
ex) The only drawback [=downside] to the plan is that we don't have the time it requires. 
ex) One of the drawbacks of living with someone is having to share a bathroom.
ex) The system suffers from two major drawbacks.
ex) Another drawback to hydrogen energy is that it's not as easy to store and transport as you might have believed.
ex) The benefits of this system far outweigh the drawbacks.

 

 

3. Dismiss
: If you dismiss something, you decide or say that it is not important enough for you to think about or consider.
: to decide that sth or sb is not important and not worth considering

 

ex) Mr. Wakeham dismissed the reports as speculation.
ex) She dismissed the plan as a cosmetic exercise to win votes.
ex) He just laughed and dismissed my proposals as unrealistic.
ex) All our suggestions were dismissed out of hand.
ex) The prime minister's proposal was immediately dismissed as a back door tax increase.
ex) It is an idea that shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. (=dismissed immediately and completely)
ex) The government has dismissed criticisms that the country's health policy is a mess.

4. Debatable
: not clear or certain because different people may have different opinions 
: arguable, questionable

ex) It is debatable whether, in the long run, the progress of science has been promoted by religion.
ex) It is highly debatable whether conditions have improved for low-income families.
ex) The value of some of the experiments is debatable.