Hi, could you please help me with this?

"make out" and "distinguish"?

I know the funamental meaning of "distinguish" (similar to "differentiate").

But, my question is

I could hear voices but I couldn't "make out" what they were saying.

I could not "distinguish" her words, but she sounded agitated.

Does this mean "identify"? (I looked up the dictionary and was confused.) Could you please tell the difference?

Thank you:)

Question

Hi, could you please help me with this?

"make out" and "distinguish"?

I know the funamental meaning of "distinguish" (similar to "differentiate").

But, my question is

I could hear voices but I couldn't "make out" what they were saying.

I could not "distinguish" her words, but she sounded agitated.

Does this mean "identify"? (I looked up the dictionary and was confused.) Could you please tell the difference?

Thank you:)

Answer

They mean essentially the same, but 'make out' is more colloquial, while distinguish is more formal.   You could say   'I could not make out her words'.   In the first sentence alternatives to  'make out'  could be  'tell'  or  'hear'  -  other informal ways of saying that you didn't follow what was said.

Answer

hey Jimmy. Make out - couldn't connect to what was said? Distinguish - couldn't tell what was said - didn't hear what sai said, couldn't identify what was said. I hope it helps.

Answer

Yes, Jimmy.

these are all suitable synonyms.

You are well overdue in getting onboard with the the process of conversing regularly with native speakers; an endeavour which will get you past this santinised and currently unrewarding dictionary level of engagement.

Deeper engagement all round will enlighten your experience.