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PARTICULAR
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A fact about some part (as opposed to general)
Example:
he always reasons from the particular to the general
Synonyms:
particular; specific
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("particular" is a kind of...):
fact (a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred)
Antonym:
general (a fact about the whole (as opposed to particular))
Sense 2
Meaning:
(logic) a proposition that asserts something about some (but not all) members of a class
Synonyms:
particular; particular proposition
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("particular" is a kind of...):
proposition ((logic) a statement that affirms or denies something and is either true or false)
Domain category:
logic (the branch of philosophy that analyzes inference)
Antonym:
universal ((logic) a proposition that asserts something of all members of a class)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A small part that can be considered separately from the whole
Example:
it was perfect in all details
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas
Hypernyms ("particular" is a kind of...):
component; component part; constituent; part; portion (something determined in relation to something that includes it)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "particular"):
high spot; highlight (the most interesting or memorable part)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Providing specific details or circumstances
Example:
a particular description of the room
Classified under:
Similar:
careful (exercising caution or showing care or attention)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Surpassing what is common or usual or expected
Example:
what's so special about the year 2000?
Synonyms:
especial; exceptional; particular; special
Classified under:
Similar:
uncommon (not common or ordinarily encountered; unusually great in amount or remarkable in character or kind)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Exacting especially about details
Example:
very particular about how her food was prepared
Synonyms:
finical; finicky; fussy; particular; picky
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
fastidious (giving careful attention to detail; hard to please; excessively concerned with cleanliness)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Unique or specific to a person or thing or category
Example:
my own special chair
Synonyms:
particular; peculiar; special
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
specific ((sometimes followed by 'to') applying to or characterized by or distinguishing something particular or special or unique)
Derivation:
particularity (the quality of being particular and pertaining to a specific case or instance)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Separate and distinct from others of the same group or category
Example:
a man who wishes to make a particular woman fall in love with him
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
specific ((sometimes followed by 'to') applying to or characterized by or distinguishing something particular or special or unique)
Derivation:
particularity (the quality of being particular and pertaining to a specific case or instance)
Sense 6
Meaning:
First and most important
Example:
she gets special (or particular) satisfaction from her volunteer work
Synonyms:
particular; special
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
primary (of first rank or importance or value; direct and immediate rather than secondary)
Context examples:
Professionally, you will surely be coming up in the world, and sometimes particular relatives might feel diminished in comparison to your success.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
Mrs. Micawber, tapping at the wall again to know if tea were ready, broke up this particular phase of our friendly conversation.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
"It's nobody in particular," she explained, laughing at the expression of my face: "only an ideal. I've never met the kind of man I mean."
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Nothing particular; teaching Adele as usual.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Jonathan and the two doctors went to the shipping agent to learn particulars of the arrival of the Czarina Catherine.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Environment served to model the clay, to give it a particular form.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
I can't help wishing sometimes, that Mother and Father hadn't been so particular about such things.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
“I had not thought there was any particular strain,” I answered.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
I have just been looking through all the recent papers in order to master the particulars.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Also, I was very proud of that particular piece of work. I had named it "The Last Turn," and I believed it to be one of the best things I had ever done.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
