specific

noun

A distinguishing attribute or quality.

A remedy for a specific disease or condition.

Specification

(in the plural) The details; particulars.

(toponymy) The distinguishing part of a toponym.

adjective

Explicit or definite.

(sometimes in combination) Special, distinctive or unique.

intended for, or applying to, a particular thing.

Serving to identify a particular thing (often a disease or condition), with little risk of mistaking something else for it.

(bioscience, taxonomy) Pertaining to a species, as a taxon or taxa at the rank of species.

Being a remedy for a particular disease on a deeper level, rather than just masking the symptoms

(immunology) Limited to a particular antibody or antigen.

(physics) Of a value divided by mass (e.g. specific orbital energy).

(physics) Similarly referring to a value divided by any measure which acts to standardize it (e.g. thrust specific fuel consumption, referring to fuel consumption divided by thrust)

(physics) A measure compared with a standard reference value by division, to produce a ratio without unit or dimension (e.g. specific refractive index is a pure number, and is relative to that of air).

Roots

specerespeci- · Latin · to look, behold

Synonyms for specific

particularadj specifiedadj certainadj exactadj specialadj preciseadj specializedadj differentadj detailedadj distinctadj definedadj

Synonyms & related words for specific

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Words related to specific

Explore words related to specific — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include overspecific, particularized, specifically, specificity, specifiable, nonspecific, particularizing, unspecific. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for specific

Common synonyms for specific include particular, specified, certain, exact, special, precise, specialized, different — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does specific come from?

The word specific breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root speci-, from Latin specere (“to look, behold”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.