From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishset somebody/something apart phrasal verb1 DIFFERENTif a quality sets someone or something apart, it makes them different from or better than other people or things from Man’s ability to reason sets him apart from other animals.2 SEPARATEto keep something, especially a particular time, for a special purposebe set apart for something Traditionally, these days were set apart for prayer and fasting.Grammar Set apart is usually passive in this meaning. → set→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
set apart• BAs gloomy as this prospect might be, it also set us apart.• A penchant for setting oneself apart and above mere mortals.• Such seriousness, intensity, and power in a young man set him apart and left an impression on others.• I was the first, but beyond that I see nothing to set me apart from anyone else.• His ugliness set him apart; his ugliness had made him vain.• What sets it apart is where it comes from.• They seemed to bend at the knee, setting their feet apart so that they could never be off balance when they moved.• What set it apart was the way irrigation and power production were linked.set from• I was the first, but beyond that I see nothing to set me apart from anyone else.• John Godfrey Saxe Several characteristics of neural network technology set it apart from conventional computing and artificial intelligence approaches.• What sets them apart from normal ISPs is that they value their exclusive online offerings more than their Internet access.• Suzuki also claims that Quovis's design sets it apart from other software programs.• The clearly defined black spots and red bands of courage that set the rainbow apart from other trout are truly remarkable.• But his wariness, his incessant powers of observation and vigilance, set him apart from others.• That set us apart from the other customers, who looked to have gotten well past the planning stage. 