Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
special act

special act

1 8.3
A law made to help one person, group, or place instead of everyone
  • noun
  • /ˈspɛʃəl ækt/
  • Formal
translation icon : ley especial
  • This award is a very special act of joint recognition by NEHA and NSF International.
  • requires a special act

Examples

  • The governor signed a special act that allowed the district to receive additional funding for schools.

  • Policy analysis is further complicated by the unique status of the ANWR, which requires a special act of Congress before leasing can begin rather than a routine decision by a federal agency.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The town passed a special act to fund new public transportation for its residents.

  • In 2019, a special act was enacted to address the unique needs of the local community.

Antonyms

general
∞ 1.0

Not specific and including most people or cases

Surface Forms

special act singular
special acts plural

Morphology

special + act

The meaning is built compositionally: 'special' (particular/not general) modifies 'act' (a statute), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a law that applies to a specific person, group, or area rather than the public at large. This modifier+noun pattern is common across languages and in legal contexts, making the sense readily derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Special act comes from the idea of making a law just for one case: special means 'particular' and act means 'law', so it is like a tailor making a suit for one person. So, a special act means 'a law that applies only to a certain person, group, or place'.