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specific definition

spe·cific (spə sif′ik)

adjective

  1. limiting or limited; specifying or specified; precise; definite; explicit no specific plans
  2. of or constituting a species
  3. peculiar to or characteristic of something specific traits
  4. of a special, or particular, sort or kind
  5. Med.
    1. specially indicated as a cure for a particular disease a specific remedy
    2. produced by a particular microorganism a specific disease
  6. Physics designating a certain constant characteristic of a substance or phenomenon measured against some arbitrary, fixed standard of reference or expressed as an amount per unit area, unit volume, etc.
Also Rarespecifical spe·cif′i·cal

Etymology: LL specificus < L species (see species) + -ficus, -fic

noun

  1. something specially suited for a given use or purpose
  2. a specific cure or remedy
  3. a distinct item or detail; particular

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

medical specific definition - medical

specific Synonyms

specific

modif.

particular, distinct, precise, explicit; see definite 1, 2, special 1. See syn. study at explicit, special.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

specific Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • know: Personally identifiable information This refers to information that lets us know the specifics of who you are.

Adjective modifier

  • subject: The first half should focus on your choice of course ( subject specific ).

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • want: Depends if you want info specific to France, clinical trials, general info or what.

Modifies a noun

  • requirement: There are no specific requirements for drilling rate etc for the seed we will be sent.

Modifying Another Word

  • culturally: Several culturally specific practical considerations should inform social work interventions with ethnic Arab peoples in Arab countries or in Western.. .

Noun used with modifier

  • something: If there's something specific you're looking for, use our search bar above.

Used with adjective complement

  • get: The objective view demands rethinking and you will please bear with me if I overview the subject before getting too specific.
specific usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

specific quotes

   Never under the most despotic of infidel Governments did I behold such squalid wretchedness as I have seen since my return, in the very heart of a Christian country. And what are your remedies? After months of inaction, and months of action worse than inactivity, at length comes forth the grand specificöthe never-failing nostrum of all state physicians from the days of Draco to the present time; death. Is there not blood enough upon your penal code that more must be poured forth to ascend to Heaven and testify against you?

-Rochdale

Il n'y a ni re'  gles ni mode'  les; ou pluto"  t il n'y a d'autres re'  gles que les lois ge¤  ne¤  rales de la nature qui planent sur l'art tout entier, et les lois spe¤  ciales qui, pour chaque composition, re¤  sultent des conditions d'existence propres a'   chaque sujet. There are no rules or models; that is, there are no rules except general laws of nature which hover over art and special laws which apply to specific subjects. 420

-Hugo,Victor Marie

The British, he thought, must be gluttons for satire: even the weather forecast seemed to be some kind of spoof, predicting every possible combination of weather for the next twenty-four hours without actually committing itself to anything specific.

-Lodge, David John

specific quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"specific." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/specific>

APA Style

specific. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/specific

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