particular
Americanadjective
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of or relating to a single or specific person, thing, group, class, occasion, etc., rather than to others or all; special rather than general.
one's particular interests in books.
- Synonyms:
- specific
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immediately present or under consideration; in this specific instance or place.
Look at this particular clause in the contract.
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distinguished or different from others or from the ordinary; noteworthy; marked; unusual.
She sang with particular warmth at last evening's concert.
- Synonyms:
- notable
- Antonyms:
- ordinary
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exceptional or especial.
Take particular pains with this job.
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being such in an exceptional degree.
a particular friend of mine.
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dealing with or giving details, as an account or description, of a person; detailed; minute.
- Synonyms:
- precise, exact, careful, scrupulous
- Antonyms:
- inexact
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exceptionally selective, attentive, or exacting; fastidious; fussy.
to be particular about one's food.
- Synonyms:
- finicky, finical, discriminating
- Antonyms:
- undiscriminating
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Logic.
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not general; referring to an indefinite part of a whole class.
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(of a proposition) containing only existential quantifiers.
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partaking of the nature of an individual as opposed to a class.
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Law.
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noting an estate that precedes a future or ultimate ownership, as lands devised to a widow during her lifetime and after that to her children.
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noting the tenant of such an estate.
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noun
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an individual or distinct part, as an item of a list or enumeration.
- Synonyms:
- particularity, feature
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Usually particulars. specific points, details, or circumstances.
to give an investigator the particulars of a case.
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Logic. an individual or a specific group within a general class.
idioms
adjective
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(prenominal) of or belonging to a single or specific person, thing, category, etc; specific; special
the particular demands of the job
no particular reason
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(prenominal) exceptional or marked
a matter of particular importance
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(prenominal) relating to or providing specific details or circumstances
a particular account
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exacting or difficult to please, esp in details; fussy
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(of the solution of a differential equation) obtained by giving specific values to the arbitrary constants in a general equation
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logic (of a proposition) affirming or denying something about only some members of a class of objects, as in some men are not wicked Compare universal
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property law denoting an estate that precedes the passing of the property into ultimate ownership See also remainder reversion
noun
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a separate distinct item that helps to form a generalization: opposed to general
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(often plural) an item of information; detail
complete in every particular
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logic another name for individual
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philosophy an individual object, as contrasted with a universal See universal
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especially, particularly, or exactly
Related Words
See special. Particular, dainty, fastidious imply great care, discrimination, and taste in choices, in details about one's person, etc. Particular implies especially care and attention to details: particular about one's clothes. Dainty implies delicate taste and exquisite cleanliness: a dainty dress. Fastidious implies being difficult to please and critical of small or minor points: a fastidious taste in styles.
Other Word Forms
- overparticular adjective
- overparticularly adverb
- unparticular adjective
Etymology
Origin of particular
First recorded in 1350–1400; from Late Latin particulāris, equivalent to Latin particul(a) “small part” ( particle ) + -āris -ar 1; replacing Middle English particuler, from Middle French, from Late Latin, as above
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Clement’s prophecies over the years, Bartholomew explained, were “often expressed in a vague and obscurantist way,” but “Trump does not appear to have been a figure of particular interest.”
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026
Fortunately, there is a more direct way to play this particular vision: EssilorLuxottica EL 0.63%increase; green up pointing triangle , the under-the-radar $100-billion company that manufactures the tech giant’s Ray-Ban smartglasses.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
Large growth funds in particular have suffered, down 9% on average in the quarter and 5.4% in the past month.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
I walked unfamiliar streets with music carrying me on its wings, ate dinner at 10 p.m. and remembered who I was when no one needed me to be anything in particular.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
“Next up is Cadet Fitz,” said Treebaun, not needing to consult his tablet for my particular simulation since he’d watched it in person.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
