Dictionary Entry
specific
Part of SpeechnounPronunciation/spəˈsɪf.ɪk/Word FrequencyCommon (5.87)Curriculum FrequencyLess common (1)A distinguishing attribute or quality.
In a Sentence
“Writers often choose specific when discussing complex ideas.”
Published Usage Examples
“The arbiter appears to the undersigned to have viewed the rivers St. John and Restigouche as possessing both a specific and a generic character; that considered _alone_ they were _specific_ ', and the designation in the treaty of "rivers falling into the Atlantic" was inapplicable to them; that considered _In connectio”
“Your referral to instant runoff voting in specific is particularly odd, given that IRV is neither a Democratic nor a Republican issue (with both McCain and Dean strongly supporting it), and is limited in popularity to conservatives or liberals.”
This entry also appears in ReadingWillow Year 10 word lists, so students can move between the dictionary and year-level study sets.
Origin
Latin, from specificus meaning 'constituting a kind or species'.
Common Phrases
Related Words
Poetry examples for “specific”
Excerpts from the ReadingWillow English Library collection.
Poetry examples are still being gathered for this entry. They will appear here once matching poems are available in the library.
