What does special mean?

Definitions for special
ˈspɛʃ əlspe·cial

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word special.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. specialnoun

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

    "they are having a special on pork chops"

  2. specialnoun

    a dish or meal given prominence in e.g. a restaurant

  3. specialadjective

    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"

  4. particular(a), peculiar(a), special(a)adjective

    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"

  5. specialadjective

    for a special service or occasion

    "a special correspondent"; "a special adviser to the committee"; "had to get special permission for the event"

  6. especial(a), exceptional, particular(a), specialadjective

    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?"

  7. specialadjective

    adapted to or reserved for a particular purpose

    "a special kind of paint"; "a special medication for arthritis"

  8. limited, specialadjective

    having a specific function or scope

    "a special (or specific) role in the mission"

  9. particular, specialadjective

    first and most important

    "his special interest is music"; "she gets special (or particular) satisfaction from her volunteer work"

  10. extra, specialadjective

    added to a regular schedule

    "a special holiday flight"; "put on special buses for the big game"

Wiktionary

  1. specialnoun

    A reduction in consumer cost (usually for a limited time) for items or services rendered.

    We're running a special on turkey for Thanksgiving.

  2. specialnoun

    Unusual or exceptional episode of a series

  3. specialnoun

    A special constable.

  4. specialnoun

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

    Thousands came to the special that carried the President's coffin.

  5. specialadjective

    Distinguished by a unique or unusual quality.

    a special episode of a television series

  6. specialadjective

    Of particular interest or value; certain; dear; beloved; favored.

    Everyone is special to someone.

  7. specialadjective

    Retarded; mentally handicapped

    He goes to a special school.

  8. specialadjective

    Constituting or relating to a species.

    The seven dark spots is a special property unique to Coccinella septempunctata.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Specialadjective

    Etymology: special, Fr. specialis, Latin.

    A special idea is called by the schools a species. Isaac Watts.

    Most commonly with a certain special grace of her own, wagging her lips, and grinning instead of smiling. Philip Sidney.

    The several books of scripture having had each some several occasion and particular purpose which caused them to be written, the contents thereof are according to the exigence of that special end whereunto they are intended. Richard Hooker.

    Of all men alive
    I never yet beheld that special face,
    Which I could fancy more than any other. William Shakespeare.

    Nought so vile that on the earth doth live,
    But to the earth some special good doth give. William Shakespeare.

    Our Saviour is represented every where in scripture, as the special patron of the poor and the afflicted, and as laying their interests to heart more nearly than those of any other of his members. Francis Atterbury, Sermons.

    O Neal, upon his marriage with a daughter of Kildare, was made denizen by a special act of parliament. Davies.

    That which necessity of some special time doth cause to be enjoined, bindeth no longer than during that time, but doth afterward become free. Richard Hooker.

    Though our charity should be universal, yet as it cannot be actually exercised, but on particular times, so it should be chiefly on special opportunities. Thomas Sprat, Sermons.

    He bore
    A paunch of the same bulk before;
    Which still he had a special care
    To keep well cramm’d with thrifty fare. Hudibras.

    The king hath drawn
    The special head of all the land together. William Shakespeare, Henry IV.

Wikipedia

  1. Special

    Special is an alternative rock song written, performed and produced by Garbage, and was the third international single to be released from the band's platinum second album Version 2.0. "Special" gained much attention in the music press upon the 1998 release of Version 2.0, as it contained a vocal interpolation of a lyric taken from "Talk of The Town" by The Pretenders. A moderate hit in the United Kingdom and Australia in October 1998, "Special" became a sleeper hit in the United States the following year. The song's success was marked by becoming nominated in the Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group categories at the 2000 Grammy Awards, and winning a Wisconsin Area Music Industry award for Song of the Year and a Citation of Achievement from the BMI Pop Awards. The sci-fi inspired music video for "Special" also received nominations from music industry award panels, winning a D&AD Award, a MTV Video Music Award, and a VH1 Visionary Video award. In 2007, "Special" was remastered and included on Garbage's greatest hits album Absolute Garbage.

ChatGPT

  1. special

    Special can be defined as something that is not ordinary or usual. It is characterized by unique qualities or attributes that set it apart from others. Special often connotes something remarkable, exceptional, or distinct in a positive way.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Specialadjective

    of or pertaining to a species; constituting a species or sort

  2. Specialadjective

    particular; peculiar; different from others; extraordinary; uncommon

  3. Specialadjective

    appropriate; designed for a particular purpose, occasion, or person; as, a special act of Parliament or of Congress; a special sermon

  4. Specialadjective

    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. Specialadjective

    chief in excellence

  6. Specialnoun

    a particular

  7. Specialnoun

    one appointed for a special service or occasion

Wikidata

  1. Special

    "Special" is an alternative rock song written, performed and produced by Garbage, and was the third international single to be released from the band's platinum second album Version 2.0. "Special" gained much attention in the music press upon the 1998 release of Version 2.0, as it contained a vocal interpolation of a lyric taken from "Talk of The Town" by The Pretenders. A moderate hit in the United Kingdom and Australia in October 1998, "Special" became a sleeper hit in the United States the following year. The song's success was marked by becoming nominated in the Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group categories at the 2000 Grammy Awards, and winning a Wisconsin Area Music Industry award for Song of the Year and a Citation of Achievement from the BMI Pop Awards. The acclaimed sci-fi inspired music video for "Special" also received multiple nominations from music industry award panels; winning a D&AD Award, a MTV Video Music Award, and a VH1 Visionary Video award. In 2007, "Special" was remastered and included on Garbage's greatest hits album Absolute Garbage.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Special

    spesh′al, adj. of a species or sort; particular: distinctive: uncommon: designed for a particular purpose: confined to a particular subject or application.—n. any special or particular person or thing: any person or thing set apart for a particular duty—a constable, a railway-tram, &c.: a newspaper extra, a despatch from a special correspondent.—n. Specialisā′tion, the act or process of specialising: differentiation, as of organs, functions, &c.—v.t. Spec′ialise, to make specifically distinct, to limit to a particular kind of action or use.—v.i. to act in some particular way, to take a particular direction, as to devote one's self especially to some particular branch of study.—ns. Spec′ialism, devotion to some particular study or pursuit; Spec′ialist, one who devotes himself to a special subject.—adj. Specialist′ic.—n. Special′ity, the particular characteristic of a person or thing: a special occupation or object of attention.—adv. Spec′ially.—ns. Spec′ialty, something special or distinctive: any special product, article of sale or of manufacture: any special pursuit, department of study, &c.: a special contract for the payment of money; Specie (spē′shi), gold and silver coin, metallic money (abl. of L. species, kind); Spē′cies, a group of individuals having common marks or characteristics, specialised from others of the same genus to which it is subordinate: a group under a higher class, a kind or sort, a distinct constituent part, an element: an appearance to the senses, an image of an external object presented to the eye or the mind; Spē′cies-mong′er, one who busies himself with classifications only, indifferent to wider biological relations, one who makes distinctions for distinction's sake; Spēcif′ic, a remedy which has a special power in a particular disease: an infallible remedy.—adjs. Spēcif′ic, -al, pertaining to, or constituting, a species: that specifies: peculiar to: produced by some special cause: precise: infallible.—adv. Spēcif′ically.—ns. Spēcif′icalness, Spēcif′icness, the state or quality of being specific.—Special constable (see Constable); Special license (see License); Special pleading (see Plead); Special verdict (see Verdict).—Specific density, the mass of any given substance contained in unit volume; Specific gravity, the weight of any given substance as compared with the weight of an equal bulk or volume of water or other standard substance at the same temperature and pressure; Specific heat (see Heat).

Suggested Resources

  1. special

    Song lyrics by special -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by special on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. SPECIAL

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Special is ranked #120901 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Special surname appeared 143 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Special.

    95.8% or 137 total occurrences were White.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'special' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #409

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'special' in Written Corpus Frequency: #669

  3. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'special' in Adjectives Frequency: #43

Anagrams for special »

  1. piacles

  2. plaices

How to pronounce special?

How to say special in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of special in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of special in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of special in a Sentence

  1. Angela Rocha:

    These are newborns who will require special attention their entire lives. It's an emotional stress that just can't be imagined, here in Pernambuco, we're talking about a generation of babies that's going to be affected.

  2. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov:

    Various dates have been named, but the final decision will be taken by the secretary-general of the United Nations on the advice and recommendations of his special envoy, Staffan de Mistura.

  3. Daniel Stevens:

    Though the Office of Special Counsel may have cleared Sec. Zinke of any technical violation, The Office of Special Counsel's still rather obvious why he gave the speech to the hockey team, the truth is, Sec. Zinke charged taxpayers more than $ 12,000 for a charter flight so that he could give a speech to the employees of one of his top campaign donors. Sec. Zinke clearly gave the speech with his political future in mind despite his excuses.

  4. Sonya Williams-Barnes:

    When there is a pending economic development deal, the Governor declares a special session and calls representatives and senators back to Jackson to pass legislation, simply, there is no legislation that would do more to improve the image and economy of Mississippi than changing the flag.

  5. Jamal Khashoggis:

    The main reason behind Jamal Khashoggis choosing to live in Turkey is to be closer to Jamal Khashoggis family. Jamal Khashoggis has a very special relationship with all of his sisters. It's been hard for all of us to hear the tragic news.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

special#1#273#10000

Translations for special

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"special." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/special>.

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    relating to or concerned with a city or densely populated area
    A transparent
    B urban
    C victimised
    D alternate

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