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specialness

specialness

5 4.2
A feeling that someone or something is different and important
  • noun
  • /ˈspɛʃəlnəs/
translation icon : especialidad
  • Her artistic abilities gave her work a specialness that set it apart from others in the gallery.
  • Indicators of specialness
  • Specialness derived
  • reported specialness

And it kind of diminishes the specialness of it.

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Examples

  • Family members expressed this specialness by bestowing an abundance of attention, love, and caring.

    Academic text (1998)
  • The specialness was expressed as a continuous commitment to the advancement of their ability or talent.

    Academic text (1998)
  • We got to make our specialness work for us instead of against us.

  • Students also value the specialness of their music class.

    Academic text (1991)
  • You said to give everyone time to understand our specialness.

  • The result of that specialness can be observed in the Occupy movement.

    Blog text (9)
  • The findings relating specialness to the childhood family point to a need for further research in this area.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Yet there's a specialness here, and I feel myself coming alive in subtle ways.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The music sounds emptier; it lacks the specialness that Six Fingers brought to the table.

    Blog text (6)
  • Even so, the specialness of the strong love these intellectuals had for the empire was expressed in their poems.

    Academic text (1990)

Synonyms

specialty
vsspecialness
  • US
54 4.4

A quality that makes a person or thing different

is broader, covering overall special or distinctive status beyond one feature
individuality
vsspecialness
39 4.6

Qualities that make someone or something different from others

focuses on being special in general rather than personal character alone
uniqueness
vsspecialness
25 4.1

Being the only one of its kind

is a more general idea of being special or distinctive
peculiarity
vsspecialness
14 6.1

An unusual feature that makes someone or something different

is more neutral, covering being special without oddness or strangeness
otherness
vsspecialness
  • Jargon
6 8.0

Being seen as different from most people or from what is usual

centres on positive distinct quality rather than unfamiliarity or difference
distinctiveness
vsspecialness
4 6.0

A quality that makes someone or something stand out from others

is the broader idea of being special, not only clear difference
singularity
vsspecialness
4 7.7

Being very different from other people or things

stresses special or distinctive quality rather than general unusualness
3 4.0

A feature that makes someone or something different from others

focuses on overall distinct quality rather than recognisable traits
special touch
vsspecialness
2 3.8

A small extra detail that makes something feel nicer

is broader, covering overall special quality rather than a single touch
distinctive feature
vsspecialness
2 4.1

A clear quality that makes a person or thing different

is more general, referring to overall special or distinctive quality
selfness
vsspecialness
1 8.2

A quality of being a unique person with your own identity

is broader, covering any special or distinctive quality beyond selfhood
unique flair
vsspecialness
1 3.9

A special style that makes someone or something stand out

covers general distinct quality beyond style or flair
unique trait
vsspecialness
1 3.7

A quality that makes a person or thing stand out

covers overall special or distinctive quality rather than one trait alone
distinctness
vsspecialness
1 5.6

Being clearly different from others

is about being special in nature rather than mere recognisability
extraordinariness
vsspecialness
1 7.7

The quality of being very unusual and making someone or something stand out

is the simpler sense of being special without extreme remarkability
differentness
vsspecialness
1 6.3

The fact that two things are not the same

is the positive idea of being special or distinctive rather than mere difference
haecceity
vsspecialness
  • Specialized
9.9

A quality that makes a person or thing clearly different from all others

focuses more on being special or distinctive rather than metaphysical individuality
thisness
vsspecialness
  • Specialized
9.9

The quality that makes something different from all others

emphasizes being special or distinctive rather than absolute identity
unicity
vsspecialness
9.8

Being the only one of its kind

is broader, covering special or distinctive qualities not only singularity
distinguishability
vsspecialness
8.1

How easy it is to see that something is different from others

is the quality itself rather than the ability to be noticed
characteristicness
vsspecialness
9.5

The quality of showing what something is like and making it easy to recognize

expresses the main idea of distinct quality rather than degree
exceptionality
vsspecialness
7.7

A quality of being very different or much better than normal

relates to general distinct quality rather than extreme rarity
inimitability
vsspecialness
9.1

Being so special or excellent that no one can copy it

focuses on being special, not specifically on being uncopiable

Antonyms

1 2.3

How often something is found or shared by many people

How Special

uniqueness
25 4.1
specialness
5 4.2
ordinariness
3 4.1

Surface Forms

specialness singular
specialnesses plural

Morphology

specialness = special (transparent) = special + ness

A regular nominalization of the adjective 'special' with '-ness' yielding 'the quality of being special', so meaning is directly deducible.

Etymology

Specialness comes from special, which is related to species, a word for 'kind' or 'type'. So specialness is the quality of being different, unique, or important, and that is why we use it to say someone or something stands out as one-of-a-kind.