Particularizes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To detail something by outlining its specific aspects or features
2. To describe an item or subject by clearly identifying its unique features
3. To provide explicit and precise information about particular elements

Etymology: The verb "particularizes" is the third-person singular form of "particularize," so it describes one person or thing doing the action. The base word is "particular," which goes back through Latin "particularis" to "pars," meaning "part." A particular is, literally, a part singled out from the whole, and that is the seed of the verb's meaning. "Particularize" was formed in English by adding the suffix "-ize" to "particular," and the suffix itself has a long route. It came from Ancient Greek "-ízein," passed into Late Latin as "-izare," reached Middle French as "-iser," and entered Middle English as "-isen." Its use in English spread widely across the centuries, which is why so many verbs end in "-ize" or "-ise." To particularize something is to pick out its parts and name them one by one, so the verb is essentially "making the parts visible." When someone particularizes a complaint or a plan, they break the general idea into its specific pieces.

Synonyms: specifies, details, clarifies, enumerates, distinguishes