Adjacent Words

Special definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SPECIAL, n. A particular. [Not Used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: unique or specific to a person or thing or category; "the particular demands of the job"; "has a particular preference for Chinese art"; "a peculiar bond of sympathy between them"; "an expression peculiar to Canadians"; "rights peculiar to the rich"; "the special features of a computer"; "my own special chair" [syn: particular, peculiar, special]
2: for a special service or occasion; "a special correspondent"; "a special adviser to the committee"; "had to get special permission for the event"
3: surpassing what is common or usual or expected; "he paid especial attention to her"; "exceptional kindness"; "a matter of particular and unusual importance"; "a special occasion"; "a special reason to confide in her"; "what's so special about the year 2000?" [syn: especial, exceptional, particular, special]
4: adapted to or reserved for a particular purpose; "a special kind of paint"; "a special medication for arthritis"
5: having a specific function or scope; "a special (or specific) role in the mission" [syn: limited, special]
6: first and most important; "his special interest is music"; "she gets special (or particular) satisfaction from her volunteer work" [syn: particular, special]
7: added to a regular schedule; "a special holiday flight"; "put on special buses for the big game" [syn: extra, special] n
1: a special offering (usually temporary and at a reduced price) that is featured in advertising; "they are having a special on pork chops"
2: a dish or meal given prominence in e.g. a restaurant
3: a television production that features a particular person or work or topic; "the last of a series of BBC specials on Iran is being shown tonight"

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French especial, from Latin specialis individual, particular, from species species Date: 13th century 1. distinguished by some unusual quality; especially being in some way superior <our special blend> 2. held in particular esteem <a special friend> 3. a. readily distinguishable from others of the same category ; unique <they set it apart as a special day of thanksgiving> b. of, relating to, or constituting a species ; specific 4. being other than the usual ; additional, extra 5. designed for a particular purpose or occasion • specialness noun Synonyms: special, especial, specific, particular, individual mean of or relating to one thing or class. special stresses having a quality, character, identity, or use of its own <special ingredients>. especial may add implications of preeminence or preference <a matter of especial importance>. specific implies a quality or character distinguishing a kind or a species <children with specific nutritional needs>. particular stresses the distinctness of something as an individual <a ballet step of particular difficulty>. individual implies unequivocal reference to one of a class or group <valued each individual opinion>. II. noun Date: 1866 1. one that is used for a special service or occasion <caught the commuter special to work> 2. something (as a television program) that is not part of a regular series 3. a featured dish at a restaurant <the specials of the day>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 a particularly good; exceptional; out of the ordinary (bought them a special present; took special trouble). b peculiar; specific; not general (lacks the special qualities required; the word has a special sense). 2 for a particular purpose (sent on a special assignment). 3 in which a person specializes (statistics is his special field). 4 denoting education for children with particular needs, e.g. the handicapped. --n. a special person or thing, e.g. a special constable, train, examination, edition of a newspaper, dish on a menu, etc. Phrases and idioms: special area Brit. a district for which special economic provision is made in legislation. Special Branch (in the UK) a police department dealing with political security. special case 1 a written statement of fact presented by litigants to a court. 2 an exceptional or unusual case. special constable Brit. a policeman sworn in to assist in times of emergency etc. special correspondent a journalist writing for a newspaper on special events or a special area of interest. special delivery a delivery of mail in advance of the regular delivery. special drawing rights the right to purchase extra foreign currency from the International Monetary Fund. special edition an extra edition of a newspaper including later news than the ordinary edition. special effects scenic illusions created by props and camera-work. special intention see INTENTION. special jury a jury with members of a particular social standing (cf. common jury). special licence Brit. a marriage licence allowing immediate marriage without banns, or at an unusual time or place. special pleading 1 Law pleading with reference to new facts in a case. 2 a specious or unfair argument favouring the speaker's point of view. special verdict Law a verdict stating the facts as proved but leaving the court to draw conclusions from them. Derivatives: specially adv. specialness n. Etymology: ME f. OF especial ESPECIAL or L specialis (as SPECIES)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Special Spe"cial, a. [L. specialis, fr. species a particular sort, kind, or quality: cf. F. sp['e]cial. See Species, and cf. Especial.] 1. Of or pertaining to a species; constituting a species or sort. A special is called by the schools a ``species''. --I. Watts. 2. Particular; peculiar; different from others; extraordinary; uncommon. Our Savior is represented everywhere in Scripture as the special patron of the poor and the afficted. --Atterbury. To this special evil an improvement of style would apply a special redress. --De Quincey. 3. Appropriate; designed for a particular purpose, occasion, or person; as, a special act of Parliament or of Congress; a special sermon. 4. Limited in range; confined to a definite field of action, investigation, or discussion; as, a special dictionary of commercial terms; a special branch of study. 5. Chief in excellence. [Obs.] The king hath drawn The special head of all the land together. --Shak. Special administration (Law), an administration limited to certain specified effects or acts, or one granted during a particular time or the existence of a special cause, as during a controversy respecting the probate of a will, or the right of administration, etc. Special agency, an agency confined to some particular matter. Special bail, Bail above, or Bail to the action (Law), sureties who undertake that, if the defendant is convicted, he shall satisfy the plaintiff, or surrender himself into custody. --Tomlins. Wharton (Law Dict.). Special constable. See under Constable. --Bouvier. Special damage (Law), a damage resulting from the act complained of, as a natural, but not the necessary, consequence of it. Special demurrer (Law), a demurrer for some defect of form in the opposite party pleading, in which the cause of demurrer is particularly stated. Special deposit, a deposit made of a specific thing to be kept distinct from others. Special homology. (Biol.) See under Homology. Special injuction (Law), an injuction granted on special grounds, arising of the circumstances of the case. --Daniell. Special issue (Law), an issue produced upon a special plea. --Stephen. Special jury (Law), a jury consisting of persons of some particular calling, station, or qualification, which is called upon motion of either party when the cause is supposed to require it; a struck jury. Special orders (Mil.), orders which do not concern, and are not published to, the whole command, such as those relating to the movement of a particular corps, a detail, a temporary camp, etc. Special partner, a limited partner; a partner with a limited or restricted responsibility; -- unknown at common law. Special partnership, a limited or particular partnership; -- a term sometimes applied to a partnership in a particular business, operation, or adventure. Special plea in bar (Law), a plea setting forth particular and new matter, distinguished from the general issue. --Bouvier. Special pleader (Law), originally, a counsel who devoted himself to drawing special counts and pleas; in a wider sense, a lawyer who draws pleadings. Special pleading (Law), the allegation of special or new matter, as distingiushed from a direct denial of matter previously alleged on the side. --Bouvier. The popular denomination of the whole science of pleading. --Stephen. The phrase is sometimes popularly applied to the specious, but unsound, argumentation of one whose aim is victory, and not truth. --Burrill. Special property (Law), a qualified or limited ownership possession, as in wild animals, things found or bailed. Special session, an extraordinary session; a session at an unusual time or for an unusual purpose; as, a special session of Congress or of a legislature. Special statute, or Special law, an act of the legislature which has reference to a particular person, place, or interest; -- in distinction from a general law. Special verdict (Law), a special finding of the facts of the case, leaving to the court the application of the law to them. --Wharton (Law Dict.). Syn: Peculiar; appropriate; specific; dictinctive; particular; exceptional; singular. See Peculiar.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Special Spe"cial, n. 1. A particular. [Obs.] --Hammond. 2. One appointed for a special service or occasion. In special, specially; in particular. --Chaucer.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(specials) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. Someone or something that is special is better or more important than other people or things. You're very special to me, darling... There are strong arguments for holidays at Easter and Christmas because these are special occasions... My special guest will be comedian Ben Elton. ADJ 2. Special means different from normal. In special cases, a husband can deduct the travel expenses of his wife who accompanies him on a business trip... So you didn't notice anything special about him?... ? normal ADJ: ADJ n 3. You use special to describe someone who is officially appointed or who has a particular position specially created for them. Frank Deford is a special correspondent for Newsweek magazine. ADJ: ADJ n 4. Special institutions are for people who have serious physical or mental problems. Police are still searching for a convicted rapist, who escaped from Broadmoor special hospital yesterday. ADJ: ADJ n 5. You use special to describe something that relates to one particular person, group, or place. Every anxious person will have his or her own special problems or fears. ...it requires a very special brand of courage to fight dictators. = unique ADJ: ADJ n 6. A special is a product, programme, or meal which is not normally available, or which is made for a particular purpose. ...complaints about the BBC's Hallowe'en special, 'Ghostwatch'... Grocery stores have to offer enough specials to bring people into the store. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Specific, specifical. 2. Particular, peculiar, especial. 3. Extraordinary, uncommon, particular. 4. Specific, especial. 5. Appropriate, peculiar, especial.

Moby Thesaurus

Amtrak, absolute, another, article, article of commerce, article of merchandise, baggage train, best, bizarre, bosom, cable railroad, categorical, celebrated, celebratory, certain, characteristic, choo-choo, classificational, classificatory, close, closest, cog railroad, cog railway, commodity, concerted, concrete, conspicuous, curious, daily, daily newspaper, dear, defined, defining, definite, deliberate, denominative, designated, detailed, determinate, determined, devoted, different, differential, distinct, distinctive, distinctively, distinguished, divisional, divisionary, drug, el, electric, electric train, elevated, else, eminent, esoteric, especial, esteemed, estimable, exact, exceptional, exclusive, express, express train, extra, extra edition, extraordinary, faithful, feature, festive, finicky, fixed, flier, freight, freight train, freighter, full, funicular, fussy, gala, gazette, good, goods train, idiosyncratic, important, individual, inimitable, inner, interurban, intimate, item, lead item, leader, leading card, lightning express, limited, local, loss leader, loyal, main feature, major, marked, memorable, meticulous, metro, milk train, minute, momentous, monorail, national newspaper, neighborhood newspaper, news, newspaper, newspaper of record, nice, noble, not that sort, not the same, not the type, notable, noteworthy, occasional, odd, of a sort, of another sort, of mark, of sorts, ordinal, other, other than, otherwise, outstanding, paper, paramount, parliamentary, parliamentary train, particular, particularly, passenger train, peculiar, personal, picayune, pointed, precise, prestigious, primary, prime, private, product, prominent, rack-and-pinion railroad, rag, railroad train, rare, rattler, red-letter, remarkable, rememberable, reputable, respective, rolling stock, salient, seconds, set, several, sheet, shuttle, shuttle train, signal, significant, singular, solipsistic, special edition, speciality, specialized, specially, specific, specifically, standard article, staple, staple item, staunch, steadfast, strange, streamliner, striking, subdivisional, subway, sui generis, tabloid, taxonomic, telling, train, tube, typal, typical, uncommon, unconventional, underground, unforgettable, unique, unorthodox, unusual, valued, vendible, ware, way train, weekly, weekly newspaper, weird