specify

[spes-uh-fahy]

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verb (used with object), spec·i·fied, spec·i·fy·ing.

to mention or name specifically or definitely; state in detail: He did not specify the amount needed.
to give a specific character to.
to set forth as a specification.

to name or state as a condition: He specified that he be given my power of attorney.

verb (used without object), spec·i·fied, spec·i·fy·ing.

to make a specific mention or statement.

Origin of specify

1250–1300; Middle English specyfyen < Old French specifier < Medieval Latin specificāre. See specific, -fy

Related formsspec·i·fi·ca·tive

[spes-uh-fi-key-tiv] /ˈspɛs ə fɪˌkeɪ tɪv/, adjectivespec·i·fi·ca·tive·ly, adverbspec·i·fi·er, nounmis·spec·i·fied, adjectivenon·spec·i·fied, adjectivepre·spec·i·fy, verb (used with object), pre·spec·i·fied, pre·spec·i·fy·ing.re·spec·i·fy, verb, re·spec·i·fied, re·spec·i·fy·ing.un·der·spec·i·fied, adjectiveun·der·spec·i·fy, verb (used with object), un·der·spec·i·fied, un·der·spec·i·fy·ing.un·spec·i·fied, adjectiveun·spec·i·fy·ing, adjective

Synonyms for specify

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1. detail, indicate, enumerate, stipulate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for specified

stated, detailed, named, described

Examples from the Web for specified

Contemporary Examples of specified

Family crests and nicknames are stitched into headrests, colors are specified for seat stitching, veneers are chosen for the dash.
Behind the Wheel of the Bespoke Bentley
Zoe Settle
October 27, 2014
The three have been given 45 days to accept a plea offer that the government has not yet specified.
Brooklyn Is the New Guantánamo for Three Suspected Al-Shabab Members
Michael Daly
September 26, 2013
It is to be specified, Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him said I am sent as a teacher, and the book He sent to teach is Quran.
The Taliban’s Letter to Malala Yousafzai
The Daily Beast
July 17, 2013
Those that did not respond with corrected data within the specified timeframe could not be considered in the ranking process.
America’s Best High Schools 2013: Behind the Rankings
Lauren Streib
May 6, 2013
But the instructor also specified that two sources could not be used.
Who Represents?
Megan McArdle
February 19, 2013

Historical Examples of specified

Have you Common Fame, with her specified charges and witnesses?
Slavery Ordained of God
Rev. Fred A. Ross, D.D.
The operations of each day are specified further on in the Poem.
Y Gododin
Aneurin
He came the following afternoon, at the time he had specified.
The First Violin
Jessie Fothergill
To what precise extent the praise was to go was not specified.
Sir Jasper Carew
Charles James Lever
We then specified places at which garbage, etc., should be dumped.
Policing the Plains
R.G. MacBeth

British Dictionary definitions for specified

specify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr; may take a clause as object)

to refer to or state specifically
to state as a condition
to state or include in the specification of

Derived Formsspecificative (ˈspɛsɪfɪˌkeɪtɪv), adjectivespecifier, noun

Word Origin for specify

C13: from Medieval Latin specificāre to describe

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for specified

specify

c.1300, from Old French specifier (13c.), from Late Latin specificare "mention particularly," from specifus (see specific). Related: Specified; specifying.