specificity

 [spes-uh-fis-i-tee]   Example Sentences

spec·i·fic·i·ty

   [spes-uh-fis-i-tee]
noun
1.
the quality or state of being specific.
2.
Biochemistry, Pharmacology. the selective attachment or influence of one substance on another, as an antibiotic and its target organism or an antibody and its specific antigen.
Origin:
1875–80; specific + -ity

Related forms
non·spec·i·fic·i·ty, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To specificity

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Specificity is always a great word to know.
So is sulfur. Does it mean:
Symbol: Fr; atomic weight: 227; atomic number: 87
Symbol: S; atomic weight: 32.064; atomic number: 16
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Example Sentences
  • The only thing that a math model adds is specificity.
  • The specificity of the accusation made it seem more believable.
  • Such data has never been available with such specificity and timeliness.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
specific (spɪˈsɪfɪk)
 
—adj
1.  explicit, particular, or definite: please be more specific
2.  relating to a specified or particular thing: a specific treatment for arthritis
3.  of or relating to a biological species: specific differences
4.  (of a disease) caused by a particular pathogenic agent
5.  physics
 a.  characteristic of a property of a particular substance, esp in relation to the same property of a standard reference substance: specific gravity
 b.  characteristic of a property of a particular substance per unit mass, length, area, volume, etc: specific heat
 c.  (of an extensive physical quantity) divided by mass: specific heat capacity; specific volume
6.  commerce Also (rare): specifical denoting a tariff levied at a fixed sum per unit of weight, quantity, volume, etc, irrespective of value
 
—n
7.  (sometimes plural) a designated quality, thing, etc
8.  med any drug used to treat a particular disease
 
[C17: from Medieval Latin specificus, from Latin species]
 
spe'cifically
 
—adv
 
specificity
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

specificity spec·i·fic·i·ty (spěs'ə-fĭs'ĭ-tē)
n.

  1. The condition or state of being specific.

  2. The statistical probability that an individual who does not have the particular disease being tested for will be correctly identified as negative, expressed as the proportion of true negative results to the total of true negative and false positive results.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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