Which of the following accurately distinguishes `*args` from `**kwargs` in function definitions?

The distinction between *args and **kwargs in function definitions is crucial for understanding how Python handles varying numbers of arguments.

When defining a function, using *args allows the function to accept any number of positional arguments. This means that the arguments can be passed as a list, and each positional argument is packed into a tuple. For example, if a function is defined with *args, calling it with multiple individual arguments will enable those arguments to be accessed as a single tuple inside the function. This is particularly useful when the exact number of arguments is not known ahead of time, allowing for greater flexibility in function calls.

On the other hand, **kwargs is used for accepting keyword arguments, which are specified in the form of key-value pairs. When a function is defined with **kwargs, any extra keyword arguments passed to the function are collected into a dictionary. This allows for handling named arguments dynamically, providing a way to pass a variable number of keyword arguments into the function.

Thus, the statement about *args accurately reflects its role in enabling the function to handle a variable number of positional arguments, making it the correct distinction in the context of the question.