underspecify

U1N1D2E1R1S1P3E1C3I1F4Y4

verb

To give insufficient, or insufficiently precise, information; to specify incompletely.

Opposite
overspecify
OriginEnglish specify ← Middle English under- ← Old English under- →
Scrabble 23
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Meanings

verbunderspecify (third-person singular simple present underspecifies, present participle underspecifying, simple past and past participle underspecified)

present singular third person underspecifies · participle present underspecifying · participle past underspecified · past underspecified

  1. To give insufficient, or insufficiently precise, information; to specify incompletely.

Synonyms & antonyms

antonym(s) of “specify incompletely”

Opposite
overspecify

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁entér
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂én
  4. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  5. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰí
  6. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰér
  7. Proto-Germanic*under
  8. Proto-West Germanic*undar
  9. Old Englishunder-
  10. Middle Englishunder-
  11. Englishunder-
  12. Englishspecify
  13. Englishunderspecify

From under- + specify.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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