specificity

The quality of being clear and exact about a particular thing rather than speaking generally.

• The instructions lack specificity.
• Please describe your concerns with greater specificity.
• The specificity of her questions helped us identify the problem.

Similar words: precision, exactness

Opposites: vagueness

Common phrases: greater specificity, lack specificity, with specificity

How often a test correctly identifies cases where the thing being tested for is absent.

• The test has high specificity.
• We measured specificity using known negative cases.
• Higher specificity means fewer false positive results.

Similar words: true negative rate

Common phrases: test specificity, high specificity, specificity rate

How strongly a medical test result or sign points to one particular illness rather than others.

• The symptom has limited specificity.
• Doctors questioned the diagnostic specificity of the finding.
• Its specificity for this disease makes the marker useful.

How to use it: specificity for something (This symptom has low specificity for that infection.)

Common phrases: diagnostic specificity, symptom specificity, low specificity