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special

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Distinguished by a unique, particular, or unusual quality.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

spehshuhl

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈspɛʃəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Distinguished by a unique, particular, or unusual quality.

  2. Of particular value or interest; dear; beloved.

  3. military

    Of or related to unconventional warfare.

  4. Constituting or relating to a species.

noun

  1. A meal offered only at a certain time by a restaurant, not as a standing fixture of the menu; often, one of a rotation of meals systematically offered for a lower price; also often a dish at a nondiscounted price that is seasonal or otherwise exciting or unusual.

  2. Any unlicensed medicine produced or obtained for a specific individual patient.

  3. One of certain mixed-breed dogs.

  4. Britishcolloquial

    A special offering (usually temporary and at a reduced price) that is featured in advertising

    “They are having a special on pork chops.”

  5. A reduction in consumer cost (usually for a limited time) for items or services rendered; the thing thus sold.

  6. Anything that is not according to normal practice, plan, or schedule, as an unscheduled run of transportation that is normally scheduled.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary (estimated)
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Distinguished by a unique, particular, or unusual quality.

Used this way, special is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use special

  • “They are having a special on pork chops.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Meal / special

special committee

Particular

special interest

Other combinations

special educationspecial casespecial attentionspecial referencespecial thanksspecial circumstances

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • speciationnounDerived noun

    The evolution of a biological species.

  • speciallyadverbDerived adverb

    In a special manner.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • special olympicsnounCompound term

    An athletic contest modeled after the Olympic Games but intended for mentally or physically handicapped persons.

  • special branchnounCompound term

    A government police department dealing with political security.

  • special contractnounCompound term

    A contract that is signed and has the (wax) seal of the signer attached.

  • special court-martialnounCompound term

    A court-martial to try soldiers for offenses less serious that than those committed in action.

  • special deliverynounCompound term

    Mail that is delivered by a special carrier (for an additional charge).

  • special drawing rightsnounCompound term

    Reserve assets in the International Monetary Fund.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • specificadjectiveRelated term

    Applying to or characterized by or distinguishing something particular or special or unique.

  • specialtynounRelated term

    An asset of special worth or utility.

  • specializedadjectiveRelated term

    Developed or designed for a special activity or function.

  • specializationnounRelated term

    The act of specializing.

  • specialisedadjectiveRelated term

    Developed or designed for a special activity or function.

  • specialitynounRelated term

    An asset of special worth or utility.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: distinguished by a unique or particular

particularspecificextraordinarypeculiaruncommon

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.