Distinction, distinct or distinctive may refer to: Distinction (philosophy), the recognition of difference Formal distinction Distinction (law), a principle in international law governing the legal use of force in an armed conflict Distinction (sociology), a social force that places different values on different individuals Distinct (mathematics) Distinctive feature, a concept in linguistics Distinción, in Spanish, separating consonantal sounds, see Phonological history of Spanish coronal fricatives The Hua–Yi distinction, the difference between China (Hua) and barbarian outsiders (Yi), applied culturally and ethnically Distinction (book), a book by Pierre Bourdieu Distinction (horse), Irish gelding, third in the 2005 Melbourne Cup Distinction (song), song and album by The Suffrajets Awards and honors an Award or quality of an award recipient Latin honors, indications of relative achievement among academic degree recipients Any one of the Nine Distinctions, awarded by the Chinese emperor Order of Distinction, award in the Jamaican school honours system in Austrian Bundesheer, German Bundeswehr and Norwegian Army synonym for rank insignia See also Distinguishable (disambiguation)