particular

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(pər-tĭk'yə-lər, pə-tĭk'-) pronunciation
adj.
  1. Of, belonging to, or associated with a specific person, group, thing, or category; not general or universal: has a particular preference for Chinese art.
  2. Separate and distinct from others of the same group, category, or nature: made an exception in this particular case.
  3. Worthy of note; exceptional: a piano performance of particular depth and fluidity.
    1. Of, relating to, or providing details: gave a particular description of the room.
    2. Attentive to or concerned with details or niceties, often excessively so; meticulous or fussy.
  4. Logic. Encompassing some but not all of the members of a class or group. Used of a proposition.
n.
  1. An individual item, fact, or detail: correct in every particular. See synonyms at item.
  2. An item or detail of information or news. Often used in the plural: The police refused to divulge the particulars of the case.
  3. A separate case or an individual thing or instance, especially one that can be distinguished from a larger category or class. Often used in the plural: "What particulars were ambushed behind these generalizations?" (Aldous Huxley).
  4. Logic. A particular proposition.
idiom:

in particular

  1. Particularly; especially.

[Middle English particuler, from Old French, from Late Latin particulāris, from Latin particula, diminutive of pars, part-, part. See part.]



In its meaning 'considered as distinct from others', particular plays a useful identifying or emphasizing role:
For this particular show there is an audience...and they arrive at 7.30 p.m.—Guardian, 1970.
In other cases, it can be superfluous:
It is entirely up to you to find these faults, if they exist, and to report them before the particular guarantee periods expire—G. Collard, 1990.

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adjective

  1. Being or related to a distinct entity: discrete, individual, separate, single, singular. See include/exclude.
  2. Of, relating to, or intended for a distinctive thing or group: especial, individual, special, specific. See specific/general.
  3. Alone in a given category: lone, one, only, separate, single, singular, sole, solitary, unique. Idioms: first and last, one and only. See include/exclude.
  4. Fixed and distinct from others: express, set1, special, specific. See specific/general.
  5. Characterized by attention to detail: blow-by-blow, circumstantial, detailed, full, minute2, thorough. See specific/general.
  6. Very difficult to please: choosy, dainty, exacting, fastidious, finical, finicky, fussy, meticulous, nice, persnickety, squeamish. Informal picky. See accept/reject.

noun

  1. An individually considered portion of a whole: article, detail, element, item, point. See part/whole.
  2. A small, often specialized element of a whole: detail, fine print, item, technicality. See group.
  3. One of the conditions or facts attending an event and having some bearing on it: circumstance, detail, fact, factor. See real/imaginary.

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adj

Definition: exact, specific
Antonyms: general, imprecise, indefinite, inexact

adj

Definition: finicky, demanding
Antonyms: easy-going, indifferent, laidback, nonchalant, undemanding, undiscriminating

adj

Definition: notable, uncommon
Antonyms: common, general, ordinary, unimportant, usual

n

Definition: detail
Antonyms: generality

Word Tutor:

particular

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: An individual fact, detail, or item.

pronunciation Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way. — Aristotle (384-322 BC), Greek philosopher, student of Plato, tutor of Alexander the Great.

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In philosophy, particulars are concrete entities existing in space and time as opposed to abstractions. There are, however, theories of abstract particulars or tropes. For example, Socrates is a particular (there's only one Socrates-the-teacher-of-Plato and one cannot make copies of him, e.g., by cloning him, without introducing new, distinct particulars). Redness, by contrast, is not a particular, because it is abstract and multiply instantiated (my bicycle, this apple, and that woman's hair are all red).

Sybil Wolfram[1] writes

Particulars include only individuals of a certain kind: as a first approximation individuals with a definite place in space and time, such as persons and material objects or events, or which must be identified through such individuals, like smiles or thoughts.

Some terms are used by philosophers with a rough-and-ready idea of their meaning. This can occur if there is lack of agreement about the best definition of the term. In formulating a solution to the problem of universals, the term 'particular' can be used to describe the particular instance of redness of a certain apple as opposed to the 'universal' 'redness' (being abstract). See also type-token distinction

The term particular is also used as a modern equivalent of the Aristotelian notion of individual substance. Used in this sense, particular can mean any concrete (individual) entity, irrespective of whether it is spatial and temporal or not.

References

  1. ^ Sybil Wolfram, Philosophical Logic, Routledge, London and New Youk, 1989, ISBN 0-415-02317-3, page 55

Related articles


Misspellings:

particular

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Common misspelling(s) of particular

  • parituclar

Translations:

Particular

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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - særlig, nøjagtig, vanskelig
n. - detaljerede oplysninger, fremstilling

idioms:

  • in particular    især

Nederlands (Dutch)
bepaald, bijzonder, kieskeurig, gedetailleerd, particulier (in propositielogica), bijzonderheid, (mv) gegevens/details

Français (French)
adj. - spécifique, exceptionnel, méticuleux, particulier, difficile (pour la nourriture), exigeant (sur la propreté, etc), attentif à (l'apparence), détaillé, circonstancié
n. - détail, renseignements (npl), coordonnées (npl), détails, en particulier, signalement (npl), (Admin) description (npl)

idioms:

  • in particular    en particulier

Deutsch (German)
adj. - besonder, eigen, ausführlich
n. - Einzelheiten, Personalien, Besonderheit

idioms:

  • in particular    insbesondere

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - ιδιαίτερος, χαρακτηριστικός, ειδικός, συγκεκριμένος, ακριβολόγος, αναλυτικός, λεπτομερειακός, λεπτομερής, ιδιότροπος, λεπτολόγος
n. - λεπτομέρεια, επί μέρους σημείο, ιδιομορφία, (πληθ.) χαρακτηριστικά, περιγραφή

idioms:

  • in particular    ιδιαιτέρως, ειδικώς/-ότερα

Italiano (Italian)
dettaglio, particolare, esatto, preciso, meticoloso, schizzinoso, difficile, esigente

idioms:

  • in particular    particolarmente, in particolare

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - particular, específico, cuidadoso, meticuloso, pessoal, estranho
n. - particular (m), detalhe (m)

idioms:

  • in particular    em particular

Русский (Russian)
определенный, особенный, придирчивый

idioms:

  • in particular    в частности

Español (Spanish)
adj. - especial, concreto, específico, exigente, delicado, personal, íntimo, tomado individualmente, por separado, de por si, en especial, exacto, preciso, minucioso, detallado, escrupuloso
n. - detalle, dato, pormenor, particular, particularidad, circunstancia, entrar en detalles, caso particular, cosa propia o característica

idioms:

  • in particular    particularmente, especialmente, principalmente, en particular

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - särskild, speciell, bestämd, noggrann, kräsen, utförlig
n. - detalj, närmare upplysning

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
特别的, 挑剔的, 独有的, 个别项目, 详细说明

idioms:

  • in particular    特别地, 尤其

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 特別的, 挑剔的, 獨有的
n. - 個別專案, 詳細說明

idioms:

  • in particular    特別地, 尤其

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 특별한, 상세한
n. - 상세, 항목, 특색

idioms:

  • in particular    특히, 각별히

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 特定の, 特別の, 著しい, やかましい, 特有の, 詳細な
n. - 個々の事項, 詳細

idioms:

  • in particular    特に

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) بشكل خاص, بالذات (الاسم) أجزاء, تفصيلات, دقيق, خاص‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מיוחד, לא רגיל, מפורט, קפדן, מדקדק, איסטניס, פרטי, עצמי, אופייני‬
n. - ‮פרט, פריט, דו"ח מפורט‬


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