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Definition of special in English:

special

Pronunciation /ˈspeSHəl/ /ˈspɛʃəl/

See synonyms for special

Translate special into Spanish

adjective

1Better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual.
‘they always made a special effort at Christmas’
- ‘Grandad and I have special food, at different times from other people.’
- ‘It seemed different, more special then the rest.’
- ‘As he experimented with special lenses and different exposures and paper, his photography became increasingly art-inspired.’
- ‘These special circumstances consist of different things.’
- ‘She began to wonder why Jon was so special and different.’
- ‘They all had their own special memories of different parts of the gardens.’
- ‘As a school-age child, Swetha considered her special skills no different from any other extracurricular activity.’
- ‘I may have been wrong: maybe this was going to be as special, just different.’
- ‘We made a special effort to do a good performance.’
- ‘This time it's special.’
- ‘She sounds different and special and someone perfect for you.’
- ‘A tuxedo is something different and special, that will help you feel and look like a star.’
- ‘Make a special effort to create your own family legends.’
- ‘It takes a special effort to have an ISDN line put in.’
- ‘For boys considered special, different schools were created.’
- ‘His normal breakfast had been average, but it would be no surprise to her if he made a special effort for his dream guest.’
- ‘She hadn't gone to any special effort to make herself look good for Akihiro.’
- ‘She knew that he was making a special effort for her sake.’
- ‘He would not make any special effort to stay on my good side, beyond his normal dislike for conflict.’
- ‘Coordinators made no special efforts to place department coworkers on the same team.’
exceptional, particular, extra special, unusual, marked, singular, uncommon, notable, noteworthy, remarkable, outstanding, unique
momentous, significant, memorable, of moment, signal, important, historic, festive, gala, red-letter
View synonyms
1. 1.1Exceptionally good or precious.
  ‘she's a very special person’
  ‘This woman is exceptional, she's special, she's extraordinary and I have great respect for her.’
  ‘I have no special talents, except being able to sing.’
  ‘Once an implant has been installed it can't be uninstalled again except with special equipment.’
  ‘None of us had any special powers.’
  ‘Nothing was special about today, except how bad it was.’
  ‘However, the lack of special features make the village children sad.’
  ‘She never wore the same clothes twice, except for a few special outfits.’
  ‘We didn't do anything special, except get ready for Homecoming.’
  ‘She was nothing significant, nothing special, nothing exceptional.’
  ‘There isn't anything special about him, except for the fact he's one of the richest men in town.’
  ‘I was this unusual child that was special in my parents' eyes - plus I was very loving with them.’
  ‘This special collection is already remarkable for its scope and size, and it deserves our enthusiastic support.’
  ‘The quality is exceptionally good, even though the special photopaper is expensive at about €5 for 10 sheets.’
  ‘I had a special place, where no one ever knew about, except Emily.’
  exceptional, particular, extra special, unusual, marked, singular, uncommon, notable, noteworthy, remarkable, outstanding, unique
  View synonyms
2. 1.2Belonging specifically to a particular person or place.
  ‘we want to preserve our town's special character’
  ‘Yuliana belongs to a special caste in classical ballet - she is a character dancer.’
  ‘This title belongs under that extra special list of films that are so bad they're good.’
  ‘The special character of South Germany was expressed in the liberal subculture, which had lasting-power and prolonged success.’
  ‘Players can catch elemental monsters called Djinni that unleash special attacks and change character stats and class.’
  ‘Although in a boxing game story is of little importance, popular characters should receive special attention.’
  ‘Each character will have several special attacks which can be executed during battles’
  ‘Perhaps the special character of the place was signalled by ceremonial activities here about 7000 BC.’
  ‘Each title character possesses special abilities that come in handy depending on your style of play.’
  ‘Each character has special abilities that only they can contribute to continuing the story.’
  ‘There is a function in the game that slows down time temporarily and allows your character to perform special moves.’
  ‘Scripts are cryptic and are often hard to read due to the many special characters that have unique meanings within the language.’
  ‘Efforts will be made to preserve the special character of the city.’
  ‘Each character has plenty of special moves’
  distinctive, distinct, individual, particular, specific, certain, peculiar, definite, express, precise
  View synonyms
3. 1.3Designed or organized for a particular person, purpose, or occasion.
  ‘we will return by special coaches’
  ‘High-heel shoes are probably one of the most favorite designs women choose for their special occasions.’
  ‘General purpose home computers will gather dust as special purpose machines with cool designs and unbreakable software take over.’
  ‘Asparagus is normally cooked, preferably by steaming in the special tall utensil designed for the purpose.’
  ‘There was shelving filled with fine silverware and cutlery for the special occasions.’
  ‘Tomorrow's the first day of school, it's a special occasion.’
  ‘Usually I didn't wear make - up, but tonight was a special occasion.’
  ‘It spoke of a special herb that was designed to cure any illness.’
  ‘This occasion is a special honor and treat for me.’
  ‘Resolution 1115 set up a special committee for this purpose.’
  specific, particular, purpose-built, tailor-made, custom-built
  View synonyms
4. 1.4(of a subject) studied in particular depth.
  ‘His colleagues would not even respect his views about the teaching of his own special subject.’
  ‘She was not alone in rendering living flowers, but she made them her special subject.’
  ‘Credit cards are subject to extensive regulation, but that is a special topic and put to one side.’
  ‘Housing was a special topic discussed at the last policy meeting on June 29-30.’
  ‘Each volume is dedicated to a special topic.’
  ‘A further special issue of Accounting History has been commissioned.’
5. 1.5Used to denote education for children with particular needs, especially those with learning difficulties.
  ‘You get more money for your school district for special education.’
  ‘She graduated high school on time and entered the UVic English program with the goal of eventually becoming a special education teacher for the blind.’
  ‘If one failed re-education, they were dubbed as mentally inept, and put into a school for special education students.’
  ‘He had to repeat kindergarten because he was shuffled between three elementary schools and was placed in special education classes.’
  ‘I'm not a morning person, but I like to get up with my husband, who teaches seventh-grade special education.’
  ‘After teaching music at several locations, he found a job teaching a special education class at P.S. 92.’
  ‘Schools can provide assessments and special education plans.’
  ‘Tr. was placed in special education classes all the way through school.’
  ‘All ninth graders get the same schedule unless they attend special education.’
  ‘Jason had been in a special education classroom for years.’
  ‘They stated that what was required was consistency throughout the waking day, not programmes of special education.’
  ‘I thought, considering the career in special education, that he would be patient.’
  ‘We have her in special education programs to make up for the 16 months of little brain development.’
  ‘I don't think the answer is special education or Ritalin - just different classes and teaching methods to encourage us to do our best.’
  ‘I am committed to the principle of inclusive education for children with special educational needs.’
  ‘Paragraph 6.10 deals with the particular problems faced by pupils with special educational needs.’
  ‘The claimant is a l5-year-old boy with special educational needs.’
  ‘The Applicant is a nine year old boy with special educational needs.’
  ‘He attends a school for special educational needs in Spilsby and is looked after by his general practitioner and paediatric services from Boston Hospital.’
6. 1.6Mathematics Denoting a group consisting of matrices of unit determinant.

noun

1A thing, such as an event, product, or broadcast, that is designed or organized for a particular occasion or purpose.
‘television's election night specials’
- ‘During the late 1950s, several hour-long specials were also broadcast.’
- ‘It will air this Sunday night as a television special on ABC.’
- ‘The artist had created several animated commercials and specials for television.’
- ‘There are a number of specials produced by the Money Programme team that are broadcast in later evening slots.’
- ‘She has written music for many classical dramatic productions and television specials.’
- ‘Suddenly I could see how all the specials and talk shows about psychics were part of an overall design.’
- ‘His special will air tomorrow night on CBS.’
- ‘This is going to be an extraordinary special on Thursday night.’
- ‘Six of the late ABC anchor's primetime news specials are going to be a part of a two-disc set.’
- ‘Channel 4 asked the show to produce an hour-long special.’
- ‘The Peanuts specials were staples of prime time television in my childhood.’
- ‘There's usually a special on this radio station my dad listens to and on Sundays, for an hour, they play Irish music.’
- ‘The Eos Orchestra has taped a special for PBS celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the composer.’
- ‘At the peak of her fame, she did a musical special for the ABC television network.’
- ‘It was originally conceived as part of a CBS special.’
- ‘I was just in Nova Scotia for our CBC special on the 11-year-old singer Aselin Debison.’
- ‘There are a couple of trailers, some production notes and instant access to some of the specials highlights.’
- ‘This is the time they highlight specials, spectaculars and exclusives to drive up revenue.’
- ‘All of these documentary specials rely heavily on source material for visuals and even sound.’
- ‘The image is clean, but about on par with a high-definition broadcast of an old television special.’
1. 1.1A dish not on the regular menu at a restaurant but served on a particular day.
  ‘Restaurants run food specials for a number of reasons, sometimes because the chef found certain ingredients at a reduced price.’
  ‘The fine-dining restaurant specialises in Californian-influenced Italian cuisine including shrimp and lobster specials served to the sounds of a live jazz band.’
  ‘Delicious weekly specials augment a superb menu, with a robust selection of favorites from America's four corners.’
  ‘The heavily accented head of the restaurant read them the specials of the day while passing out the small but mouthwatering menu.’
  ‘It's the left-hand menu specials that give me hope for the future of Chez Nous.’
  ‘Clarke said competition from pubs is one of the main reasons restaurants have introduced lunch specials.’
  ‘I had the fish special of hake served with potato purée and oriental-style dressing.’
  ‘Lulu walked over to the board and with a napkin erased the absurd menu special.’
  ‘The Flying Biscuit Cafe has an ever-changing menu, and often features vegetarian specials.’
  ‘The dinner specials that evening included sausages and hot German potato salad and I was quite hungry.’
  ‘The last page of the menu lists the festival specials, all priced at $5.95!’
  ‘I counted 20 main courses, if you include the four gourmet sandwiches and the evening special.’
  ‘Sausage rolls would go down well, especially if the filling was a bit special, perhaps good sausage mince mixed with game or venison.’
  ‘Since food and wine menus are printed every day, there are no specials to recite in addition to the wine pitch.’
  ‘There are some 20 cocktails on the menu plus a selection of five summer specials that are constantly changing.’
  ‘The daily specials appear on giant boards and included French onion soup and courgette with mint served with bread for €4.’
  ‘The menu is as all good restaurants should be, very brief with only five starters, seven main courses and four desserts - but no specials I noticed.’
  ‘As well as the 15 starters and the 30 main courses, there are a whole bunch of specials that are never listed but always there.’
  ‘Loch Fyne offers a large range of seafood delicacies, with an ever changing specials board to catch your eye.’
  ‘The starter specials of the day included coconut and sweetcorn soup and Kerala spinach soup.’
  recipe, item of food, course
  View synonyms
2. 1.2informal A product or service offered at a temporarily reduced price.
  ‘Mrs. Hill was a careful shopper, choosing house brands and in-store specials’
  ‘There are reduced rates and specials being offered within other sections of the market.’
  ‘They offer a handful of weekly specials but otherwise keep prices relatively high.’
  ‘Wellington is awash in curry houses, thus they tend to offer specials to entice you to eat there.’
  ‘The new owners will serve just beer and wine and will offer daily beer specials.’
  ‘I am sure a lot of the merchants will be offering specials.’
  ‘Package deals and online specials may offer bigger bargains.’
  ‘Many Web sites offer close-out specials at even bigger discounts.’
  ‘Often, dry cleaners will offer two-for-one specials on selected items and on specific days.’
  ‘You could, for example, offer specials, which were very successful for us.’
  ‘It will also send information about specials deals, new offers and other things you may be interested in.’
  ‘By clicking on send, visitors are automatically registered and will have the latest special offers e-mailed to them before they appear on the website.’
  ‘Chef Mike Moody can't wait to offer some flavorful nightly specials that will feature seafood and plenty of flavor.’
  ‘Offer sales, specials and even giveaways to attract people into your store.’
  ‘It's a winner when you want to inform a mass consumer audience about a short-term sale, event or special price offer.’
  ‘A family or couple can save money by bulk buying those special offers in the supermarkets.’
  ‘She checked mailings for catches in the small print and for any special offers.’
  ‘Look for these specials in the newspaper or on television, or call a couple of stores to find out when the next promotion will be.’

Phrases

on special

Available for sale at a reduced price.
‘they have hamburger buns on special today’
- ‘"I was comfortable enough to put the Vanilla Twist on special in all our restaurants this month."’
- ‘I expect they had either been abducted or were on special in an aisle I had yet to discover.’
- ‘We have a three pack of socks on special for only a fiver up at the till!’
- ‘She had bought it last week, on special at Foodland.’
- ‘One of them is liverwurst, which Larry got on special at the local deli.’
- ‘Foodtown had it on special for about $10 - an absolute steal.’
- ‘Now I use paper towels, and buy them in the 12 pack when they're on special.’
- ‘They're on special!’
- ‘I'd got some really cute outfits that were on special for like half price and didn't spend that much money.’
- ‘It had been on special for 99 cents a tub at Woolies, so we had 8 tubs of it in the freezer.’