special cases

Noun

special case (plural special cases)

1. A specialized instance of a more general phenomenon, category, etc.
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:special case.

   Antonyms:

   generalization

   1. A class of phenomena that is a subset of a more general class.
      • Habermas, e.g., put forward that the legal discourse should not be understood as a special case of the moral discourse because in law next to moral reasons there are also ethical and pragmatic reasons to play a legitimate part (J. Habermas, Between Facts and Norms, 230 ff.).2013, Luc J. Wintgens, The Law in Philosophical Perspectives: My Philosophy of Law, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 42
   2. A theorem or other statement that follows directly from a more general statement.
      • This is a special case of equation 4.9.10 with h(x)#61;K#95;v(#92;betax).2008, Andrei D. Polyanin, Alexander V. Manzhirov, Handbook of Integral Equations: Second Edition, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 356

See all 4 meanings of special case