generalize

generalize
[[t]ʤe̱nrəlaɪz[/t]]
generalizes, generalizing, generalized
(in BRIT, also use generalise)
1) VERB If you generalize, you say something that seems to be true in most situations or for most people, but that may not be completely true in all cases.

Critics love to generalise, to formulate trends into which all new work must be fitted, however contradictory...

[V prep] It's hard to generalize about Cole Porter because he wrote so many great songs that were so varied.

2) VERB If you generalize something such as an idea, you apply it more widely than its original context, as if it was true in many other situations.

[V n across/to n] A child first labels the household pet cat as a `cat' and then generalises this label to other animals that look like it. [Also V n]


English dictionary. 2008.

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  • generalize — gen er*al*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Generalized}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Generalizing}.] [Cf. F. g[ e]n[ e]raliser.] [Also spelled {generalise}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To bring under a genus or under genera; to view in relation to a genus or to genera.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Generalize — Gen er*al*ize, v. i. To form into a genus; to view objects in their relations to a genus or class; to take general or comprehensive views. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • generalize — verb assume, conclude, deal in generalities, discuss in the abstract, draw inferences, generatim, hypothesize, ignore distinctions, loqui, make a generalization, suppose, surmise, theorize, universalize, universe Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William …   Law dictionary

  • generalize — 1751, probably a new formation from GENERAL (Cf. general) + IZE (Cf. ize). M.E. had generalisen (early 15c.). Related: Generalizable; generalized; generalizing …   Etymology dictionary

  • generalize — (Amer.) gen·er·al·ize || dÊ’enÉ™rÉ™laɪz v. make general or indefinite statements; form a general principle; conclude, infer; make generally applicable; give a general character to (also generalise) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • generalize — [v] make a sweeping assumption, statement be metaphysical, conclude, derive, discern, discover, establish, hypothesize, induce, observe, philosophize, postulate, speculate, stay in the clouds*, theorize, vapor; concepts 37,49 Ant. except,… …   New thesaurus

  • generalize — (also generalise) ► VERB 1) make a general or broad statement by inferring from specific cases. 2) make more common or more widely applicable. 3) (generalized) Medicine (of a disease) affecting much or all of the body; not localized. DERIVATIVES… …   English terms dictionary

  • generalize — [jen′ər əl īz΄, jen′rəl īz΄] vt. generalized, generalizing [ME generalisen] to make general; esp., a) to state in terms of a general law or precept b) to infer or derive (a general law or precept) from (particular instances) c) to emphasize the… …   English World dictionary

  • generalize — UK [ˈdʒenər(ə)laɪz] / US [ˈdʒen(ə)rəˌlaɪz] verb Word forms generalize : present tense I/you/we/they generalize he/she/it generalizes present participle generalizing past tense generalized past participle generalized 1) a) [intransitive] to make a …   English dictionary

  • generalize — gen|e|ral|ize also generalise BrE [ˈdʒenərəlaız] v 1.) to form a general principle or opinion after considering only a small number of facts or examples generalize from ▪ She has a tendency to generalize from her husband to all men. 2.) [I] to… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • generalize — gen|er|al|ize [ dʒen(ə)rə,laız ] verb 1. ) intransitive to make a statement or remark about a group of people or things without going into any detail: We can generalize and say that most of our students are middle class. a ) to give an opinion… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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