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English (US)
Cambridge Dictionary Online

Meaning of particular in English

particular
adjective
us
/pɚˈtɪk.jə.lɚ/ uk
/pəˈtɪk.jə.lər/

particular adjective (SPECIAL)

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B2 [ before noun ]
special, or this and not any other:
She wanted a particular type of cactus.
He wouldn't take just any book - he had to have this particular one!
"Why did you ask?" "Oh, no particular reason, just making conversation."
in particular
B1
especially:
What in particular did you like about the last apartment that we saw?
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More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Particular and individual
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particular adjective (NOT EASILY SATISFIED)

C1 [ after verb ]
not easily satisfied and demanding that close attention should be given to every detail:
particular about He's very particular about the kitchen - everything has to be perfectly clean and in its place.
She's very particular about what she eats.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Wanting everything to be right
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particular
noun
us
/pɚˈtɪk.jə.lɚ/ uk
/pəˈtɪk.jə.lər/
particulars [ plural ]
details or information about a person or an event, especially when officially recorded:
There's a form for you to write down all your particulars.
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the particular formal
If you are considering the particular, you are considering single examples rather than general matters or ideas:
The report focuses on the particular rather than the general and so doesn't draw any overall conclusions.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Particular and individual
See more results »
(Definition of particular from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

particular | Intermediate English

particular
adjective
us
/pərˈtɪk·jə·lər, pəˈtɪk-/

particular adjective (SPECIAL)

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special or single, or this and not any other:
Is there a particular restaurant you’d like to eat at?
What in particular (= special things) did you like about the last apartment that we saw?

particular adjective (CAREFUL)

wanting to make choices carefully because you are not easily satisfied:
She’s very particular about what she eats.
(Definition of particular from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of particular

particular
His campaign may want to focus on a particular night back in 2003.
From NPR
In particular, they are demanding reporting of any suspicious transactions.
From Reuters
What follows are my own reasons to study the humanities, with a particular focus on the arts.
From Huffington Post
Who forced you to buy that particular house?
From TIME
What keeps a work attached to a particular age, a time we can not revisit in order to recall why we so loved it?
From The New York Review of Books
So if you fine people want to hash out that particular argument yet again in the comments, you're more than welcome to do so.
From A.V. Club
In particular, the image itself proved to be popular -- understandably.
From Fast Company
The response was addressed to the public in general and not just to her in particular.
From Washington Post
That might mean a particular part of your brain is larger than usual.
From Huffington Post
And one piece in particular has them mystified.
From NPR
That touchdown is a private benefit and yet not a particular one.
From Slate Magazine
Now it wasn't anything in particular about these people that made them work longer.
From Huffington Post
What are the challenges of doing this particular show?
From Los Angeles Times
Songs, in particular, were seen as effective tools.
From Foreign Policy
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
What is the pronunciation of particular?
 

Translations of particular

in Chinese (Traditional)
特殊的, 特定的，具體的, 不易滿足的…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
特殊的, 特定的，具体的, 不易满足的…
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in Spanish
especial, particular [masculine-feminine, singular]…
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in Portuguese
especial, detalhista, exigente…
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in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
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in Gujarati
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in German
in Norwegian
in Urdu
in Ukrainian
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in Italian
विशिष्ट, खास, दक्ष…
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特定の, 特別な, 特定（とくてい）の…
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belli, belirli, muayyen…
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particulier/-ière, spécial/-ale, exigeant/-ante…
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determinat, concret, especial…
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bepaald, bijzonder, kieskeurig…
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विशेष, विशिष्ट, खास…
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વિશેષ, અથવા આ જ બીજું કંઈ નહીં, સરળતાથી સંતોષ ના માને તેવા અને દરેક વિગતને ઝીણવટથી ધ્યાન આપવાના આગ્રહી.…
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bestemt, særlig, speciel…
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speciell, särskild, noga…
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yang ini, yang lebih, terlalu teliti…
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speziell, besondere, -s…
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spesiell, særlig, bestemt…
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خاص, مخصوص, احتیاط پسند…
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індивідуальний, окремий, особливий…
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ప్రత్యేకమైన, లేదా ఇది తప్ప ఇంకేదీ కాని, పట్టింపుతో ఉండడం…
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বিশেষ কিছু, নির্দিষ্ট কিছু, খুঁতখুঁতে…
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jednotlivý, zvláštní, vybíravý…
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khusus, istimewa, pemilih…
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โดยเฉพาะ, ซึ่งไม่ธรรมดา, จู้จี้…
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riêng biệt, đặc biệt, cầu kỳ…
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konkretny, szczególny, wybredny…
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특정한, 특별한…
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particolare, preciso, speciale…
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particle board
particle displacement BETA
particle physicist
particle physics
particular
particular about something/doing something
particular average
particularities phrase
particularity

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