Specific means precise, particular, clearly defined — "give me a specific date, not just next month". Pacific means peaceful or peace-making, and outside the name of the ocean you will rarely meet it — "a pacific settlement of the dispute". If you mean exact rather than peaceful, the word starts with an S.
One word does almost all the work
Specific is the everyday word. It contrasts with vague, general or approximate: specific instructions, a specific example, nothing specific to report. The adverb is specifically, and the related noun is specifics ("let's get to the specifics").
Pacific, lower case, means peaceful or inclined to peace. It is genuinely uncommon in modern English and appears mainly in formal or literary writing — a pacific temperament, pacific intentions. Capitalised, Pacific names the ocean and the region around it. Its far more common relatives are pacify, pacifist and pacifier.
The test
Substitute particular. If it fits — "a particular date", "particular instructions" — you need specific. Only if peaceful fits should you write pacific. In practice, unless you are writing about the ocean or deliberately reaching for a formal synonym of peaceful, the answer is specific.
The spelling cue is straightforward: specific begins with the same letter as specify, species and specimen — all about singling something out.
The mistake this pair is famous for
The confusion is almost entirely a speech error. "Pacifically" said for specifically is one of the best-known malapropisms in English, along with "expresso" for espresso and "supposably" for supposedly. It happens because the initial sp- cluster is easy to soften in fast speech, and once the mishearing takes hold it gets written down.
If you catch yourself saying it, slow the first syllable: spuh-SIF-ik-lee. There is a hiss at the front. Pacifically is a real word, but it means "in a peaceful manner", so "I pacifically asked for a refund" claims something rather different from what the writer intends.
Nearby words worth separating
- Pacific — peaceful. Pacify — to calm someone down.
- Specific — precise. Specify — to state something precisely.
- Specious — superficially convincing but false. Not related to either, and not a synonym for specific.
Watch too for the medical and technical senses of specific, as in specific gravity or a species-specific disease, where it means peculiar to one thing rather than merely detailed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it "pacifically" or "specifically"?
Specifically, in almost every case. It means in particular or precisely. Pacifically means in a peaceful way and is very rarely what a speaker intends.
Is "pacific" a real word on its own?
Yes — it means peaceful, as in "a pacific response to the provocation". It is uncommon in everyday English, where you would normally write peaceful or calm.
Why do people say pacifically?
It is a mishearing. The "sp" sound at the start of specifically is easy to slur in quick speech, and the result sounds like an existing word, so it sticks.