Meaning & use
specified
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Named or described exactly and in advance, as in a rule, order or contract, rather than left open.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: the specified date, the specified amount.
Patterns
- the specified time
- within the specified limit
Payment must be made by the specified deadline.
Please store the medicine at the specified temperature.
Any work outside the specified area will not be covered.
verbtransitive
Past tense and past participle of specify: stated clearly and exactly what is needed or required.
Grammar: Takes an object or a clause: she specified a date; he specified that it be signed.
Patterns
- specified something
- specified that something
The contract specified that all repairs be done within thirty days.
He specified a blue cover in his order.
Nobody had specified who should pay for the delivery.
Common combinations
- specified period
- The offer stays open for a specified period only.
- unless otherwise specified
- Unless otherwise specified, all prices include tax.
- specified in the contract
- The penalty is specified in the contract.
- specified conditions
- The warranty applies only under the specified conditions.
- as specified
- The parts were delivered as specified.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stipulated
- Stipulated is even more formal and suggests a condition that was insisted on as part of an agreement.
- designated
- Designated means officially chosen or assigned for a purpose, such as a designated driver, rather than described in detail.
- stated
- Stated is plainer and only says it was said or written, with no sense that it is a requirement.
- particular
- Particular points to one item among others and does not suggest it was formally set out beforehand.
Opposites
Word family
- specify verb
- to state something clearly and exactly
- specification noun
- a detailed description of requirements
- specific adjective
- clearly defined, not general
- unspecified adjective
- not stated or named
Commonly confused: specified or specific?
specified vs specific
Specific means precise or particular in general, while specified means that someone has actually stated the detail.
Practice
Choose the best word: The package must be returned within the ____ time, or the refund will be cancelled.
Choose one answer.
Specified is the adjective meaning stated in advance. Specifying is an -ing verb form and specificity is a noun, so neither fits before 'time'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “specified”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.