What does specified mean?
Specified means stated, identified, or defined in particular detail. It is used when a document, instruction, agreement, or description gives precise information rather than leaving it open to interpretation. In phrases such as “the specified date” or “materials specified in the contract,” it emphasizes that a detail has been explicitly set out. Specified is also the past tense and past participle of specify: a report may say that an inspector “specified the materials,” or a form may ask whether the work has been “fully specified.” The word is common in legal, technical, administrative, and academic English, although it is not limited to formal writing. It is related to specific, but the emphasis is slightly different: specific highlights precision or being particular, while specified highlights that something has been stated in advance.
Explicitly stated or identified in particular detail.
"The contract includes a specified delivery date and a list of acceptable materials."
Common in legal, technical, and administrative contexts; it usually points to information that has been formally set out.
The past tense or past participle of specify, meaning to state, name, or define something explicitly.
"The inspector specified the materials and dimensions in the report."
Used as a finite past-tense verb or in a perfect construction such as “have specified.”
Specified turns a vague instruction into a precise one: it tells you that the details have been deliberately stated.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does specified come from?
Specified is formed from specify by adding the ending -ed, marking it as the simple past and past participle. Specify comes through Old French specifier from Latin specificare, “to make specific or particular,” ultimately associated with specere, “to look at.” Related words include specific, specification, specimen, and special, all reflecting the same Latin root concerned with looking at, distinguishing, or making particular.
Related word forms
How specified is actually used
Specified is generally neutral but is especially common in legal, technical, academic, and administrative contexts. As a verb form, it is normally used in the past tense or with forms of have; as an adjective, it often modifies a noun such as date, requirements, conditions, or procedure.
Easily confused with specified
Specific means particular or precise, while specified usually means explicitly stated or set out in advance; in “specified materials,” the materials have been named or defined.