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specify

verb

Simple meaning

To state explicitly, or in detail, or as a condition.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

spehsuhfy

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈspɛsəfaɪ

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.

verb

  1. transitive

    To state explicitly, or in detail, or as a condition.

  2. transitive

    To bring about a specific result.

    “Could you please specify your criticism of my paper?”

  3. transitive

    To include in a specification.

Word at a Glance

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

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To state explicitly, or in detail, or as a condition.

Used this way, specify 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

Nearby words

  • particularize , rarer, so it draws attention

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

More ways to use specify

  • “Could you please specify your criticism of my paper?”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

specify exactly

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • specifiedadjectiveInflected form

    Clearly and explicitly stated.

  • specifiernounInflected form

    Someone who draws up specifications giving details (as for obtaining a patent).

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • specificadjectiveDerived adjective

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

  • specificallyadverbDerived adverb

    In distinction from others.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

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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.