Specialize Meaning
/ˈspɛʃəˌlaɪz/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo make distinct or separate from what is common
verbTo make distinct or separate from what is common, To go into specific details.
Sentence Examples
The number of students who specialize in biology will increase from now on.
I specialize in medieval history.
Many students prefer not to specialize too soon.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
Veterinarians can ____ in caring for exotic animals like snakes and parrots.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
If you want to be a top lawyer, you should ____ in a particular field like corporate law.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English special Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English specialize From special + -ize.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Firſt laſh the Great-ones ; but, if thou be wiſe, / In generall, and doe not ſpeciallize : / Yet, if thou doe, ſo wiſely let it be, / None may except but thoſe that faulty be."
— 1613, George Wither, “The Scourge”, in Juvenilia, page 334:
"Our Sauiour specialising and nominating the places in which these false prophets should teach his presence to be."
— 1616, Richard Sheldon, A Survey of the Miracles of the Church of Rome, Proving Them to be Antichristian, section 261:
"He is at moſt a confuſed and wild Chriſtian, not ſpecialized by any form, but capable of all."
— 1628, John Earle, Micro-Cosmography: Or, A Piece of the World Characterized, Salisbury: E. Easton, published 1786, page 121:
"In the lowest orders of being, we find these functions very much blended together, and several of them apparently performed by one simple apparatus ; but in proportion as we rise in the scale, we perceive that they are specialized, or separated from each other, and that a complicated set of organs is appropriated to each of them."
— 1835 October, “On the Structure and Functions of the Organs of Respiration”, in West of England Journal, volume I, number IV, page 218:
"Those who insist that a woman’s place is at home by divine decree need only to study the life of primitive man to find out how very human are some of our domestic customs, for they will then see this distinction, that while nature has specialized woman for child-bearing, it is society which has specialized her for housework."
— 1911 September, Laura Clarke Rockwood, “Food Preparation and Its Relation to the Development of Efficient Personality in the Home”, in Popular Science Monthly, volume LXXIX, pages 281–2:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Veterinarians can ____ in caring for exotic animals like snakes and parrots.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
If you want to be a top lawyer, you should ____ in a particular field like corporate law.