specific

American  

[spi-sif-ik] / spɪˈsɪf ɪk /

adjective

1. having a special application, bearing, or reference; specifying, explicit, or definite.

   to state one's specific purpose.

2. specified, precise, or particular.

   a specific sum of money.

   Antonyms:

   vague

3. peculiar or proper to somebody or something, as qualities, characteristics, effects, etc..

   His specific problems got him into trouble.

4. of a special or particular kind.

5. concerned specifically with the item or subject named (used in combination).

   The Secretary addressed himself to crop-specific problems.

6. Biology. of or relating to a species.

   specific characters.

7. Medicine/Medical.

   1. (of a disease) produced by a special cause or infection.

   2. (of a remedy) having special effect in the prevention or cure of a certain disease.

8. Immunology. (of an antibody or antigen) having a particular effect on only one antibody or antigen or affecting it in only one way.

9. Commerce. noting customs or duties levied in fixed amounts per unit, as number, weight, or volume.

10. Physics.

    1. designating a physical constant that, for a particular substance, is expressed as the ratio of the quantity in the substance to the quantity in an equal volume of a standard substance, as water or air.

    2. designating a physical constant that expresses a property or effect as a quantity per unit length, area, volume, or mass.

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noun

• specifics
  plural

1. something specific, as a statement, quality, detail, etc.

2. Medicine/Medical. a specific remedy.

   There is no specific for the common cold.

specific British  

/ spɪˈsɪfɪk /

adjective

1. explicit, particular, or definite

   please be more specific

2. relating to a specified or particular thing

   a specific treatment for arthritis

3. of or relating to a biological species

   specific differences

4. (of a disease) caused by a particular pathogenic agent

5. physics

   1. characteristic of a property of a particular substance, esp in relation to the same property of a standard reference substance

      specific gravity

   2. characteristic of a property of a particular substance per unit mass, length, area, volume, etc

      specific heat

   3. (of an extensive physical quantity) divided by mass

      specific heat capacity

      specific volume

6. Also (rare): specifical. commerce denoting a tariff levied at a fixed sum per unit of weight, quantity, volume, etc, irrespective of value

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noun

1. (sometimes plural) a designated quality, thing, etc

2. med any drug used to treat a particular disease

Synonym Usage

See special.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• specificity
  noun
• prespecific
  adjective
• unspecific
  adjective
• nonspecifically
  adverb
• prespecifically
  adverb
• specifically
  adverb
• unspecifically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• specifics
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of specific

First recorded in 1625–35; from Medieval Latin specificus, equivalent to Latin speci(ēs) species + -ficus -fic

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Explanation

If you describe something as specific, you're signaling that you're being precise. Say you ask your friend to meet you at a specific time and place — it means you want to meet her at, say, Ray's Pizza at 3:00 PM, not just anywhere. Specific also means "detailed and exact." That's the sense of the word that comes into play when a teacher advises you to be as specific as possible. Indeed, specific writing paints a picture. Say your friend Angela lives on a soybean farm in Iowa and takes Claritin for her pollen allergy. That might not be the most interesting fact in the world, but it's a lot more interesting than saying you have a friend who lives in the Midwest and takes medicine for a problem. If the sentence about Angela's pollen allergy is interesting at all, it's because of the specifics.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

specific specifics

One official says: "Unless the prime minister has said something quite specific about something everyone is scrambling around trying to work out what he wants to do."

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

Revenue bonds are generally viewed as riskier than other types of government bonds, in part because they’re backed by the promise of revenue from a specific project — in this case, payment by individual borrowers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

Rather than broadcasting one general message, it delivers signals to specific destinations, with different groups of neurons responding to different experiences.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

The cause “felt like an accumulation of risks rather than one specific issue,” said Kaiser.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

But he found himself unmoving, his thoughts spinning around a strangely specific memory.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Noodles didn’t elaborate on the specifics of the health issue or how long he expected to be on the sidelines.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Although the specifics at Brown-Forman are unique, the larger pattern, one I call the cousin problem, is not.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

“And what are they going to do fix it? We continue to find it difficult to hone in on the specifics for these important questions.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

Beijing's foreign ministry said while it was not aware of the specifics of his case, "we have always opposed any slander and smear directed at China".

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

The specifics of the prayer were always different, for Father—who loved science—was an avid reader of a dozen university journals.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

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Related Words

• clear-cut
• definite
• definitive
• different
• distinct
• exact
• explicit
• individual
• limited
• peculiar
• precise
• special
• specialized
• unambiguous
• unequivocal
• unique

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