specificity

[ 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.

Other Words From

• nonspec·i·fici·ty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of specificity¹

First recorded in 1875–80; specific + -ity

Example Sentences

Some said the plan lacked specificity while others said it targeted low-income neighborhoods such as the Tenderloin.

From Los Angeles Times

To test whether stress impacts memory specificity, the researchers trained mice to associate one sound with stress, and another sound with no stress.

From Science Daily

The TSG status is defined by the specificity and traditional element of the dish and decision makers will need to see a recipe agreed.

From BBC

Unlike last year’s monologue, this one wasn’t as razor sharp, but the material overall had the comic’s signature specificity and bafflement at the world.

From Los Angeles Times

But the questions posed to Vance concerning his past statements about backing a national abortion ban lacked enough specificity in their phrasing for the Ohio senator to claim he never supported one.

From Salon

Related Words

• particularity
• precision