Clearly not as others are (8)
I believe the answer is:
distinct
'are' is the definition.
The answer and definition are different parts of speech. However, past participle verbs and adjectives sometimes mean the same thing.
I don't understand the rest of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for distinct that I've seen before include "Discrete, clear-cut" , "Quite clear and defined" , "Plain" , "Discrete, separate" , "Definite or different in kind" .)