Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use specific in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, noun

Specific means explicit or definite. Example: “Quinine is a specific medicine in cases of malaria.”

Examples of specific by meaning

adjectivePertaining to a species, as a taxon or taxa at the rank of species.

  • Science and literature, then, are the two achievements of Homo sapiens that most convincingly justify the specific name.2008, Richard Dawkins, The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing, Oxford, published 2009, page 3

adjectiveSpecial, distinctive or unique.

  • A psychologist told WJLA TV that, for the most part, this isn’t a Cocomelon-specific issue.2023 April 26, Rayna Skiver, “Actually Bad for Kids? Here’s What Experts Say”, in Green Matters

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

  • a highly specific test
  • specific and nonspecific symptoms

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

  • Quinine is a specific medicine in cases of malaria.
  • Any improvement in secondary sciatica is probably due to the analgesic action of the sodium salicylate, but in primary sciatica, in all likelihood “rheumatic,” the effect of the sodium salicylate appears to be specific rather than symptomatic.

nounA remedy for a specific disease or condition.

  • A compound of spurge, cardamom, cinnamon of Mecca, pellitory, ginger, nettle seed is an Arab specific for sexual weakness.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 228

nounThe distinguishing part of a toponym.

  • With the exception of names of pan-Canadian significance and some alternate forms approved by provincial authorities, the specific is not translated.2024 July 29, “geographical names: translation”, in Writing Tips Plus, Ottawa: Translation Bureau, retrieved 09 Nov 2024

More sentences with specific

  • We do not discuss specific interrogation techniques because they are classified information.From the entry classified
  • The ambassador-at-large was designated to the Middle East as a region, rather than to a specific country.From the entry at large
  • The regular expression overmatched, capturing the entire paragraph instead of the specific sentence.From the entry overmatch
  • These claims are conclusory and unsupported by any specific allegations, let alone evidence.From the entry conclusory
  • The new database allows us to search for specific patterns within biosequences.From the entry biosequence
  • Understanding bigenderism may offer insight into the specific challenges faced by nonbinary people.From the entry bigenderism
  • The software requires a specific configuration to run properly.From the entry configuration
  • It was almost impossible to locate specific books in the library until we had alphabetized them by the authors' surnames.From the entry alphabetize
  • The specifics of the contract are still under negotiation.From the entry negotiation
  • A female blue whale may produce a specific power of up to 16 kilowatts per tonne when travelling fast.From the entry specific power
  • It's hard to keep hair in a specific hairdo when you just spritz only a little bit of hair spray.From the entry spritz
  • His roving eyes never focused on anything specific.From the entry roving
  • Variable costs may actually vary with the number of shifts, the number of set-ups, or many other specific activities.From the entry variable cost
  • The new members of the crime organization got the most dangerous jobs. I'll leave the specifics to your imagination.From the entry leave to the imagination
  • For some presumptive diagnoses, empirical antibiotic therapy begins immediately, whereas specific antibiotic therapy must await the results of the culture and sensitivity test.From the entry empirical
  • His interest in the railway was ostensibly a hobby, but people began wondering why he was taking photos of specific trains and specific equipment.From the entry ostensibly
  • A seller may employ a third party to perform specific services to augment the value of a product, such as packing and distribution.From the entry third party
  • While there is much room for reassessing the specifics, the basic fact that the Bible teaches some form of patriarchy cannot be interpreted away.From the entry interpret away
  • The judge agreed to calendar a hearing for pretrial motions for the week of May 15, but did not agree to calendar the trial itself on a specific date.From the entry calendar
  • In some types of software with specific needs, it is necessary to replicate even the bugs of previous versions of the software to maintain bug compatibility.From the entry bug compatibility
  • The dogs gave positive indications in specific areas of the property, indicating the scent of human decomposition.2026 July 27, Nicholas Muhoro, “The Disappearance of Kayla Berg and the Condemned House Where Her Trail Ended”, in Skip Boring, archived…. From the entry decomposition
  • Each year, a specific number are set aside for sacrifice, for the greater good.2026 April 21, Cal Flyn, “On the trail with the hunters who believe shooting big game can save Africa’s wildlife”, in The Guardian. From the entry greater good
  • Kung Fu struck specific pressure points in me and induced commotio cordis.2026 June 7, Rob Schrab, “Rick Fu Hustle” (3:15 from the start), in Rick and Morty, season 9, episode 3, spoken by Rick Sanchez (Ian…. From the entry commotio cordis
  • The ISA is less a specific language, more a set of generally available words.2025 March 25, Jason Kehe, “Angelina Jolie Was Right About Computers. “RISC architecture is gonna change everything.” Those absurdly…. From the entry ISA
  • Each species adapitates subtly to its specific environment which influences their physical characteristics and behaviors slightly differently.2025 April 22 (last accessed), Aptive Environmental, Jumping Mice Guide, archived from the original on 22 Apr 2025. From the entry adapitates
  • Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF): An investment vehicle with the specific purpose of investing in OZs.2025 May, “The One, Big, Beautiful Bill”, in United States House Committee on Ways & Means, page 24. From the entry qof
  • This subculture is characterized by the adoption of deliberately transgressive online personas within specific, restricted-access groups.(Can we date this quote?), Aesthetics Wiki, archived from the original on 06 Jun 2025. From the entry Larpercore
  • “This material has a specific hardness and is chemically very stable.2024 August 6, Ricardo Treviño, “Self-Healing Concrete Help Buildings Seal Themselves”, in TecScience, archived from the original on 19…. From the entry calcium
  • For many at Captivate, this job was preferable to a specific other.2024, Hemangini Gupta, Experimental Times: Startup Capitalism and Feminist Futures in India, University of California Press, →ISBN, page 152. From the entry yoke
  • Their analysis showed that marmosets use these phee-calls to address specific individuals within their social groups.2024 August 29, “Marmoset Monkeys Use ‘Names’: A Leap in Primate Communication”, in ScienceBlog, retrieved 31 Aug 2024. From the entry phee-call
  • Her nails, I saw, were painted a very specific shade: brat green.2024 August 22, Stephanie McNeal, “A Moment for Hope Walz and Her Brat-Green Nails at the DNC”, in Glamour. From the entry brat green
  • The specific requirements for overcollateralization can vary depending on the type of loan or financial arrangement.2024 January 28, Michael Taylor, “What Is Overcollateralized and How Does It Work?”, in Shifting Shares. From the entry overcollateralization

Meaning of specific

  1. adjective Explicit or definite.
  2. adjective Pertaining to a species, as a taxon or taxa at the rank of species.
  3. adjective Special, distinctive or unique.

Full definition of specific

Questions about specific in a sentence

How do you use specific in a sentence?
Specific is used as an adjective and noun. For example: “Quinine is a specific medicine in cases of malaria.”
What is a short sentence with specific?
“a highly specific test”
What does specific mean?
Specific means explicit or definite.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: specific (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use specific in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/specific. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.