special
spe·cial/ˈspɛʃ.əl/adjective, noun, verb
special is spelled S-P-E-C-I-A-L, 2 syllables: spe·cial. The wrong spelling people search most is speical: about 120 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 70 of all searches for the word. Special is an adjective meaning “Distinguished by a unique, particular, or unusual quality”.
How many letters and syllables are in special?
| Letters | 7: S-P-E-C-I-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: spe·cial |
| In writing | 219 times per million words; the 460th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, speical, about 120 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell special?
Special is spelled S-P-E-C-I-A-L. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 70 of the searches for special in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is special?
Special appears 219 times per million words in written English, the 460th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce special?
- US /ˈspɛʃ.əl/
- US [ˈspɛʃ.ɫ̩]
- Australia /ˈspeʃ.əl/
Special has 2 syllables, split spe·cial in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-special.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of special
- more special comparative
- specialer comparative
- most special superlative
- specialest superlative
- specials plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- specialing US, participle, present
- specialling UK, participle, present
- specialed US, participle, past
- specialled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does special mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Distinguished by a unique, particular, or unusual quality.
a special episode of a television series
- 2
Of particular value or interest; dear; beloved.
Everyone is special to someone.
- 3
Of or related to unconventional warfare.
special forces, special operations
- 4
Appointed specifically to examine a single event or issue.
For the few times the U.S. Supreme Court has to actually try a case, they will appoint a special master to do so.
- 5
Constituting or relating to a species.
Having seven dark spots is a special property unique to Coccinella septempunctata.
- 6
Of or related to disabilities, especially learning or intellectual disabilities.
special education, special needs
- 7
derogatoryoffensiveStupid, lacking intelligence.
What do you mean, you don't understand the sign? What are you, special?
- 8
Of, being, or pertaining to sexual intercourse or the genitals.
The parents told the kids not to bother them during special time.
noun
- 1
A reduction in consumer cost (usually for a limited time) for items or services rendered; the thing thus sold.
We're running a special on turkey for Thanksgiving.
- 2
A meal offered only at a certain time by a restaurant, not as a standing fixture of the menu; often, one of a rotation of meals systematically offered for a lower price; also often a dish at a nondiscounted price that is seasonal or otherwise exciting or unusual.
Today's dinner special is wild salmon, which we don't normally get a chance to offer.
- 3
Unusual or exceptional episode of a series.
Did you see the Christmas special?
- 4
UKcolloquialA special constable.
- 5
Anything that is not according to normal practice, plan, or schedule, as an unscheduled run of transportation that is normally scheduled.
Thousands came to see the special that carried the President's coffin.
- 6
Any unlicensed medicine produced or obtained for a specific individual patient.
- 7
An award, typically a free game, that is made available to the player upon reaching or completing a major objective in a pinball game.
- 8
A journalist sent to the scene of an event to report back.
verb
- 1
To supervise a patient one-on-one.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate special?
Wiktionary records 5 abbreviations of special: SX, spec, spec., specl., spl.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Special in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | spécial , particulier , solde |
| German | speziell, Spezial-, ungewöhnlich, Sonder-, besondere , Sonderangebot |
| Portuguese | especial , oferta |
| Spanish | especial , oferta |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does special come from?
From Middle English *special, especial, especiall, from Old French especial (whence also French spécial), from Latin speciālis (from speciēs). In this sense displaced native Old English synderlīċ. Doublet of especial.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).