Distinctive = easy to recognize as being a particular thing. E.g., “The distinctive smell of burning rubber.” Distinct = strong enough to be obvious; not a faint smell. E.g., “In the house there was a distinct smell of food cooking.”

distinctive-characteristic of one person or thing, and so serving to distinguish it from others. distinct-recognizably different in nature from something else of a similar type. Use distinctive if you want to emphasize something being unique, use distinct when you want to emphasize something being different.