special (ˈspɛʃəl
)
Definitions
adjective
- distinguished, set apart from, or excelling others of its kind
- (prenominal) designed or reserved for a particular purpose ⇒
a special tool for working leather
- not usual or commonplace
- (prenominal) particular or primary ⇒
his special interest was music
- denoting or relating to the education of physically or mentally handicapped children ⇒
a special school
noun
- a special person or thing, such as an extra edition of a newspaper or a train reserved for a particular purpose
- a dish or meal given prominence, esp at a low price, in a café, etc
- Australian history slang a convict given special treatment on account of his education, social class, etc
- short for special constable
- Australian New Zealand US Canadian informal an item in a store that is advertised at a reduced price; a loss leader
verb
(tr)- New Zealand informal to advertise and sell (an item) at a reduced price ⇒
we are specialling butter this week
Alternative Forms
ˈspecially adverb ˈspecialness nounWord Origin
C13: from Old French especial, from Latin speciālis individual, special, from speciēs appearance, speciesSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
exceptional,
important,
significant,
particular,
unique,
unusual,
extraordinary,
distinguished,
memorable,
gala,
festive,
uncommon,
momentous,
out of the ordinary,
one in a million
red-letter,
especial,
Translations
- British English:
special
Someone or something that is special is different from normal, often in a way that makes them better or more important than other people or things.You're very special to me, darling.ˈspɛʃəl ADJECTIVE You're very special to me, darling.
- Spanish:
especial
adj
- French:
spécial
adj
- German:
besonders
adj
- Chinese: 特别的 adj
- Arabic: خَاصّ adj
- Portuguese: especial adj
- Russian: особый adj особая
- Croatian: specijalan adj specijalna
- Czech: zvláštní adj
- Danish: speciel adj
- Dutch: speciaal adj
- Finnish: erikoinen adj
- Greek: ειδικός adj ειδική
- Italian: speciale adj
- Japanese: 特別の no_posp
- Korean: 특별한 adj
- Norwegian: spesiell adj
- Polish: specjalny adj specjalna
- Brazilian Portuguese: especial adj
- European Spanish:
especial
adj
- Swedish: speciell adj speciellt
- Thai: พิเศษ adj
- Turkish: özel adj
- Vietnamese: đặc biệt adj
Usage examples
That sense of being special which came from being privy to the inner life of an investigation was a very intimate thing.
, CASCADES - THE DAY OF THE DEAD (2001)Major work requires a special permit, but minor changes can be carried out straight away.
Country Life (2004)Only in Ireland and Britain are there no special laws for them.
Irish Times (2002)Some celebrities have special relationships with favourite designers.
Glasgow Herald (2001)Indeed, he had a special case made for the object, the better for its display.
, THE MEDICAL MYSTERIES E-OMNIBUS (2001)