VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

specificity

noun·Academicformal

Last updated

UK/ˌspesɪˈfɪsəti/
US/ˌspesəˈfɪsəti/

Meanings

  1. noununcountableformal

    The quality of being exact and clearly stated, with enough detail to avoid confusion.

    Grammar: Uncountable: the specificity of the instructions.

    Patterns

    • the specificity of something
    • with specificity
    • lack specificity

    The specificity of her questions surprised the interviewer.

    Please describe the problem with more specificity.

    The law lacks specificity and is open to many readings.

  2. noununcountablemedicaltechnical

    The ability of a medical test to correctly show a negative result in people who do not have the condition.

    Grammar: Often paired with sensitivity: high specificity means few false positives.

    Patterns

    • the specificity of a test
    • specificity and sensitivity

    The test has high specificity, so healthy people rarely get a false alarm.

    Doctors weigh a test's specificity against its sensitivity.

    Low specificity means many people are wrongly flagged.

  3. noununcountablebiologytechnical

    In biology, the tendency of an enzyme, antibody or receptor to work only with a particular molecule.

    Grammar: Used with of: the specificity of an enzyme.

    Patterns

    • the specificity of an enzyme
    • specificity for something

    The specificity of an enzyme depends on its shape.

    Antibodies show great specificity for their target.

    The drug's specificity reduces side effects.

Common combinations

lack specificity
The plan lacked specificity, so no one knew what to do.
greater specificity
We need greater specificity in the contract.
high specificity
The test has high specificity.
specificity and sensitivity
The report lists the specificity and sensitivity of each test.
with specificity
He answered with specificity.

Synonyms and how they differ

precision
Precision stresses accuracy and exactness of detail, while specificity stresses being particular rather than general.
detail
Detail is the information itself, while specificity is the quality of having it.
explicitness
Explicitness means stating things openly and clearly, whereas specificity means naming exact particulars.
particularity
Particularity is a formal, rare word for attention to individual details.

Opposites

vaguenessgenerality

Word family

specific adjective
clearly stated or particular
specifically adverb
in a precise way or for a particular purpose
specify verb
to state exactly
specification noun
a detailed description of requirements
specifics noun
the exact details of something

Commonly confused: specificity or sensitivity? specificity or specialty?

specificity vs sensitivity

In testing, sensitivity is the ability to detect true positives, while specificity is the ability to detect true negatives.

specificity vs specialty

A specialty is an area someone is skilled in, not the quality of being exact.

Practice

A diagnostic test with low specificity is likely to produce many ___.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “specificity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words