Specific - Definition

adj 1: (sometimes followed by `to') applying to or characterized
by or distinguishing something particular or special or
unique; "rules with specific application"; "demands
specific to the job"; "a specific and detailed account of
the accident" [ant: general, nonspecific]
2: stated explicitly or in detail; "needed a specific amount"
3: relating to or distinguishing or constituting a taxonomic
species; "specific characters"
4: being or affecting a disease produced by a particular
microorganism or condition; used also of stains or dyes used
in making microscope slides; "quinine is highly specific for
malaria"; "a specific remedy"; "a specific stain is one
having a specific affinity for particular structural
elements" [ant: nonspecific]
n 1: a fact about some part (as opposed to general); "he always
reasons from the particular to the general" [syn:
particular, specific] [ant: general]
2: a medicine that has a mitigating effect on a specific
disease; "quinine is a specific for malaria"