Especially vs specially

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Grammarist

Especially means above all others, to a great extent. Especially is an adverb that is used to signify a person, thing or situation that is greater than all others. Especially is one of the Oxford English Dictionary’s one thousand most frequently used words.

Specially means for a particular purpose, more than is usual. Specially is also an adverb. Often, especially and specially are interchangeable. However, there are situations where either especially or specially is a better choice. Remember, especially is used to signify something greater than all others, specially signifies something for a particular purpose.

Examples

Opponents of marijuana legalization plan to deploy a campaign designed to raise concerns about specific aspects of Proposition 64, especially those that could be salient to parents. (The Desert Sun)

Summer overload: Animal shelters filled to capacity, especially with cats (The Joplin Globe)

The question is whether drivers suffer harmful levels of exposure—and it’s a hard question to answer, especially as most of us encounter the same chemical vapors elsewhere. (Poplar Mechanics Magazine)

This artificial surcharge only widens the gap with the populist pricing of Kirchnerism which this government is finding so hard to bridge but it especially affects a sector on which Macri is pinning some of his highest hopes — namely agriculture. (The Buenos Aires Herald)

Mumphord is specially trained to conduct sexual assault exams, collect evidence and testify in court. (The Victoria Advocate)

Specially abled Bhumika had always wanted to pursue her passion for sketching and achieve success in the field. (The Hindustan Times)

Three thousand specially invited guests attended the test run of the spectacular show inside Rio’s famous Maracana stadium, but were asked to ‘save the surprise’ by not taking photos or revealing details of the show. (The New Zealand Herald)