Specific — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a fact about some part (as opposed to general)

a medicine that has a mitigating effect on a specific disease

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/spəsˈɪfɪk/

🇬🇧British English

/spəsˈɪfɪk/

🇮🇳Indian English

/spəsˈɪfɪk/

3 syllables Say it as /spəsˈɪfɪk/.

Examples

he always reasons from the particular to the general
quinine is a specific for malaria
rules with specific application

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

particular

Antonyms

general nonspecific

Parts of Speech

noun	a fact about some part (as opposed to general) “he always reasons from the particular to the general”
noun	a medicine that has a mitigating effect on a specific disease “quinine is a specific for malaria”
adjective	(sometimes followed by `to') applying to or characterized by or distinguishing something particular or special or unique “rules with specific application”
adjective	stated explicitly or in detail “needed a specific amount”
adjective	relating to or distinguishing or constituting a taxonomic species “specific characters”
adjective	being or affecting a disease produced by a particular microorganism or condition; used also of stains or dyes used in making microscope slides “quinine is highly specific for malaria”

Word Forms

specificity

noun

the quality of being specific rather than general

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

spezifisch

eine Tatsache über einen Teil (im Gegensatz zum Allgemeinen)

🇫🇷French

spécifique

un fait sur une partie (par opposition à un fait général)

🇪🇸Spanish

específico

un hecho sobre alguna parte (a diferencia de lo general)

🇮🇹Italian

specifico

un fatto riguardante una parte (in contrapposizione al generale)

🇳🇱Dutch

specifiek

een feit over een bepaald deel (in tegenstelling tot algemeen)

🇵🇹Portuguese

específico

um fato sobre alguma parte (em oposição ao geral)

🇷🇺Russian

специфический

факт о какой-то части (в отличие от общего)

India

🇮🇳Hindi

विशिष्ट

कुछ भाग के बारे में एक तथ्य (सामान्य के विपरीत)

🇧🇩Bengali

নির্দিষ্ট

কিছু অংশ সম্পর্কে একটি সত্য (সাধারণের বিপরীতে)

🇮🇳Tamil

குறிப்பிட்ட

சில பகுதியைப் பற்றிய உண்மை (பொதுவுக்கு மாறாக)

🇮🇳Telugu

నిర్దిష్టమైన

కొంత భాగం గురించి వాస్తవం (సాధారణంగా కాకుండా)

🇮🇳Marathi

विशिष्ट

काही भागाबद्दल तथ्य (सर्वसाधारण विरूद्ध)

🇮🇳Gujarati

ચોક્કસ

અમુક ભાગ વિશેની હકીકત (સામાન્યની વિરુદ્ધ)

🇮🇳Kannada

ನಿರ್ದಿಷ್ಟ

ಕೆಲವು ಭಾಗದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಒಂದು ಸತ್ಯ (ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ವಿರುದ್ಧವಾಗಿ)

🇮🇳Malayalam

നിർദ്ദിഷ്ട

ചില ഭാഗങ്ങളെക്കുറിച്ചുള്ള ഒരു വസ്തുത (പൊതുവായതിന് വിരുദ്ധമായി)

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਖਾਸ

ਕੁਝ ਹਿੱਸੇ ਬਾਰੇ ਇੱਕ ਤੱਥ (ਆਮ ਦੇ ਉਲਟ)

🇵🇰Urdu

مخصوص

کچھ حصے کے بارے میں ایک حقیقت (عام کے برعکس)

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

具体的

关于某些部分的事实（而不是一般事实）

🇯🇵Japanese

特定の

（一般的なものではなく）ある部分に関する事実

🇰🇷Korean

특정한

어떤 부분에 관한 사실(일반이 아닌)

🇻🇳Vietnamese

cụ thể

một sự thật về một phần nào đó (ngược lại với chung chung)

🇹🇭Thai

เฉพาะเจาะจง

ข้อเท็จจริงเกี่ยวกับบางส่วน (ตรงข้ามกับเรื่องทั่วไป)

🇮🇩Indonesian

spesifik

fakta tentang beberapa bagian (bukan umum)

🇵🇭Filipino

tiyak

isang katotohanan tungkol sa ilang bahagi (kumpara sa pangkalahatan)

🇲🇾Malay

khusus

fakta tentang beberapa bahagian (berbanding dengan umum)

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

محدد

حقيقة حول جزء ما (على عكس العام)

🇮🇷Persian

خاص

یک واقعیت در مورد بخشی (در مقابل کلیات)

🇹🇷Turkish

özel

bir kısım hakkında bir gerçek (genelin aksine)

🇮🇱Hebrew

ספֵּצִיפִי

עובדה על חלק כלשהו (בניגוד לכללי)

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'specific'?

The primary meaning of 'specific' is 'a fact about some part (as opposed to general)'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'specific' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'specific' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'specific' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'specific' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'specific' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'specific' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'specific' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'specific' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'specific' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'specific' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted