endorsed authoritatively as having met certain requirements; "a certified public accountant"
holding appropriate documentation and officially on record as qualified to perform a specified function or practice a specified skill; "a registered pharmacist"; "a registered hospital"
having quality or payment or delivery guaranteed; "certified milk"; "certified check"; "certified mail"
guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory; "a hardheaded appraisal of our position"; "a hard-nosed labor leader"; "completely practical in his approach to business"; "not ideology but pragmatic politics"
unreasonably rigid in the face of argument or entreaty or attack
a medicine that has a mitigating effect on a specific disease; "quinine is a specific for malaria"
stated explicitly or in detail; "needed a specific amount"
(sometimes followed by `to') applying to or characterized by or distinguishing something particular or special or unique; "rules with specific application"; "demands specific to the job"; "a specific and detailed account of the accident"
being or affecting a disease produced by a particular microorganism or condition; used also of stains or dyes used in making microscope slides; "quinine is highly specific for malaria"; "a specific remedy"; "a specific stain is one having a specific affinity for particular structural elements"
relating to or distinguishing or constituting a taxonomic species; "specific characters"
presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible; "the predicted temperature and the actual temperature were markedly different"; "actual and imagined conditions"
being or existing at the present moment; "the ship's actual position is 22 miles due south of Key West"
taking place in reality; not pretended or imitated; "we saw the actual wedding on television"; "filmed the actual beating"
existing in act or fact; "rocks and trees...the actual world"; "actual heroism"; "the actual things that produced the emotion you experienced"
being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something; "her actual motive"; "a literal solitude like a desert"- G.K.Chesterton; "a genuine dilemma"
using (or as if using) mechanisms or tools or devices; "a mechanical process"; "his smile was very mechanical"; "a mechanical toy"
relating to or governed by or in accordance with mechanics; "a belief that the universe is a mechanical contrivance"; "the mechanical pressure of a strong wind"
relating to or concerned with machinery or tools; "mechanical arts"; "mechanical design"; "mechanical skills"
inquire into; "the students had to research the history of the Second World War for their history project"; "He searched for information on his relatives on the web"; "Scientists are exploring the nature of consciousness"
attempt to find out in a systematically and scientific manner; "The student researched the history of that word"