specially

spe·cial·ly
S1P3E1C3I1A1L1L1Y4
/ˈspɛʃəli/

adverb

For a special purpose, person, or occasion.

“I had my insoles specially made.”

Similar
exceedinglyfor a special purposepassingquiteespeciallyparticularlypeculiarly
OriginMiddle English specialli →
CommonScrabble 16
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Meanings

adverbspecially (not comparable)
  1. not comparableFor a special purpose, person, or occasion.

    I had my insoles specially made.

    3 more examples

    We had this cake made specially for your birthday.

    The train is waiting specially for a high-ranking diplomat.

    The school is specially for any child whose schooling was disrupted by illness.

  2. not comparableproscribedExtremely.

    She's specially good at running.

    Synonyms: exceedingly

  3. not comparableproscribedIn particular

    I love all animals, specially cute furry ones.

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbExtremely.

Similar
exceedingly
Similar
for a special purposepassingquite

More synonyms by meaning

adverbin a special manner

Similar
especially

adverbto a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common

Similar
particularlypeculiarlyespecially
Also see
especiallyparticularlypeculiarlyspecificallyveryviz.

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishspecialli
  2. Englishspecially

From Middle English specialli, specially, equivalent to special + -ly.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian специално, нарочно
  • специално (specialno)for a special purpose
  • нарочно (naročno)for a special purpose
Catalan especialment
  • especialmentfor a special purpose
Chinese 特意, 特地
  • 特意 (tèyì)for a special purpose
  • 特地 (tèdì)for a special purpose
Esperanto speciale, spefice
  • specialefor a special purpose
  • speficefor a special purpose
Finnish erityisesti
  • erityisestifor a special purpose
French particulièrement, spécialement
  • particulièrementfor a special purpose
  • spécialementfor a special purpose
German speziell
  • speziellfor a special purpose
Hungarian külön, kimondottan
  • különfor a special purpose
  • kimondottanfor a special purpose
  • kifejezettenfor a special purpose
  • direktfor a special purpose
Japanese わざわざ
  • わざわざ (wazawaza)for a special purpose
Korean 일부러
  • 일부러 (ilbureo)for a special purpose
Polish specjalnie
  • specjalniefor a special purpose
Portuguese especialmente
  • especialmentefor a special purpose
Russian специа́льно
  • специа́льно (speciálʹno)for a special purpose
Spanish especialmente, específicamente
  • especialmentefor a special purpose
  • específicamentefor a special purpose
Ukrainian спеціа́льно
  • спеціа́льно (speciálʹno)for a special purpose
Cite this entry
APA

specially. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/specially

MLA

“specially.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/specially. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “specially,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/specially.

Source: specially on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.