specific

[spe·cif·ic]

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.

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Of or pertaining to a species; characterizing or constituting a species; possessing the peculiar property or properties of a thing which constitute its species, and distinguish it from other things; as, the specific form of an animal or a plant; the specific qualities of a drug; the specific distinction between virtue and vice.

Noun
a medicine that has a mitigating effect on a specific disease; "quinine is a specific for malaria"

Noun
a fact about some part (as opposed to general); "he always reasons from the particular to the general"

Adjective S.
stated explicitly or in detail; "needed a specific amount"

Adjective
(sometimes followed by `to'') applying to or characterized by or distinguishing something particular or special or unique; "rules with specific application"; "demands specific to the job"; "a specific and detailed account of the accident"

Adjective
being or affecting a disease produced by a particular microorganism or condition; used also of stains or dyes used in making microscope slides; "quinine is highly specific for malaria"; "a specific remedy"; "a specific stain is one having a specific affin

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Adjective
relating to or distinguishing or constituting a taxonomic species; "specific characters"

a.
Of or pertaining to a species; characterizing or constituting a species; possessing the peculiar property or properties of a thing which constitute its species, and distinguish it from other things; as, the specific form of an animal or a plant; the specific qualities of a drug; the specific distinction between virtue and vice.

a.
Specifying; definite, or making definite; limited; precise; discriminating; as, a specific statement.

a.
Exerting a peculiar influence over any part of the body; preventing or curing disease by a peculiar adaption, and not on general principles; as, quinine is a specific medicine in cases of malaria.

n.
A specific remedy. See Specific, a., 3.

a.
Anything having peculiar adaption to the purpose to which it is applied.

Specific

Spe*cif"ic , a. [F. sp'82cifique, or NL. cpesificus; L. species a particular sort or kind + facere to make. Cf. Specify.] 1. Of or pertaining to a species; characterizing or constituting a species; possessing the peculiar property or properties of a thing which constitute its species, and distinguish it from other things; as, the specific form of an animal or a plant; the specific qualities of a drug; the specific distinction between virtue and vice.

Specific difference is that primary attribute which distinguishes each species from one another.

2. Specifying; definite, or making definite; limited; precise; discriminating; as, a specific statement. 3. (Med.) Exerting a peculiar influence over any part of the body; preventing or curing disease by a peculiar adaption, and not on general principles; as, quinine is a specific medicine in cases of malaria.

In fact, all medicines will be found specific in the perfection of the science.

Specific character (Nat. Hist.), a characteristic or characteristics distinguishing one species from every other species of the same genus. -- Specific disease (Med.) (a) A disease which produces a determinate definite effect upon the blood and tissues or upon some special tissue. (b) A disease which is itself uniformly produced by a definite and peculiar poison or organism. -- Specific duty. (Com.) See under Duty. -- Specific gravity. (Physics) See under Gravity. -- Specific heat (Physics), the quantity of heat required to raise temperature of a body one degree, taking as the unit of measure the quantity required to raise the same weight of water from zero to one degree; thus, the specific heat of mercury is 0.033, that of water being 1.000. -- Specific inductive capacity (Physics), the effect of a dielectric body in producing static electric induction as compared with that of some other body or bodies referred to as a standard. -- Specific legacy (Law), a bequest of a particular thing, as of a particular animal or piece of furniture, specified and distinguished from all others. Wharton. Burrill. -- Specific name (Nat., Hist.), the name which, appended to the name of the genus, constitutes the distinctive name of the species; -- originally applied by Linn'91us to the essential character of the species, or the essential difference. The present specific name he at first called the trivial name. -- Specific performance (Law), the peformance of a contract or agreement as decreed by a court of equity.

Specific

Spe*cif"ic, n. 1. (Med.) A specific remedy. See Specific, a., 3.

His parents were weak enough to believe that the royal touch was a specific for this malady.

2. Anything having peculiar adaption to the purpose to which it is applied. Dr. H. More.

Of or pertaining to a species; characterizing or constituting a species; possessing the peculiar property or properties of a thing which constitute its species, and distinguish it from other things; as, the specific form of an animal or a plant; the specific qualities of a drug; the specific distinction between virtue and vice.

A specific remedy. See Specific, a., 3.

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Usage Examples

And I don't have any specific steps to take because I don't start the same way every time. But there is a knowing when it's enough and you can leave it alone.

And I'm not apolitical - I'm very specific in my politics. But a lot of the time it's nobody's business unless you're over at my house having dinner.

'American Horror' goes for a very specific kind of Seventies suburban downer ambience - 'Flowers in the Attic' paperbacks, Black Sabbath album covers and late-night flicks like 'Let's Scare Jessica to Death.' It even has 'Go Ask Alice'-era urban legends.

As crucial as religion has been and is to the life of the nation, America's unifying force has never been a specific faith, but a commitment to freedom - not least freedom of conscience.

As a novelist, I mined my history, my family and my memory, but in a very specific way. Writing fiction, I never made use of experiences immediately as they happened. I needed to let things fester in my memory, mature and transmogrify into something meaningful.

God will not permit any troubles to come upon us, unless He has a specific plan by which great blessing can come out of the difficulty.

Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone's task is unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.

Misspelled Form

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Other Usage Examples

For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment.

For, to be a stranger is naturally a very positive relation it is a specific form of interaction.

Concentration of executive power, unless it's very temporary and for specific circumstances, let's say fighting world war two, it's an assault on democracy.

All pictures are unnatural. All pictures are sad because they're about dead people. Paintings you don't think of in a special time or with a specific event. With photos I always think I'm looking at something dead.

'Swan Lake' is the most difficult thing to portray for a female ballet dancer it really requires such specific qualities of articulation, agility, strength, and the arm work is something that takes a lot of training.

Congress will pass a law restricting public comment on the Internet to individuals who have spent a minimum of one hour actually accomplishing a specific task while on line.

Growing up, I had one very specific idea of what a wedding should be, and that was the wedding of Fraulein Maria and Captain von Trapp in 'The Sound of Music.'