9 PHRASE You say in general to indicate that you are referring to most people or things in a particular group. □ People in general will support us. □ She enjoys a sterling reputation in law enforcement circles and among the community in general.
10 PHRASE You say in general to indicate that a statement is true in most cases. □ In general, a child's joints are usually more supple and prone to dislocation than an adult's.
ge n|er|al ele c|tion ◆◇◇ (general elections )
1 N‑COUNT In Britain, a general election is an election where everyone votes for people to represent them in Parliament.
2 N‑COUNT In the United States, a general election is a local, state, or national election where the candidates have been selected by a primary election. Compare primary .
gen|er|al|ise /dʒe nrəla I z/ → see generalize
gen|er|al|ity /dʒe nəræ l I ti/ (generalities )
1 N‑COUNT A generality is a general statement that covers a range of things, rather than being concerned with specific instances. [FORMAL ] □ I'll start with some generalities and then examine a few specific examples. □ He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.
2 N‑UNCOUNT The generality of a statement or description is the fact that it is a general one, rather than a specific, detailed one. □ Operating at a very high level of generality it would have little importance.
gen|er|ali|za|tion /dʒe nrəla I ze I ʃ ə n/ (generalizations ) in BRIT, also use generalisation N‑VAR A generalization is a statement that seems to be true in most situations or for most people, but that may not be completely true in all cases. □ He is making sweeping generalisations to get his point across. □ The evaluation of conduct involves some amount of generalization.
gen|er|al|ize /dʒe nrəla I z/ (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. □ [V ] 'In my day, children were a lot better behaved'.—'It's not true, you're generalizing'. □ [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 + to ] 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]
gen|er|al|ized /dʒe nrəla I zd/ in BRIT, also use generalised 1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Generalized means involving many different things, rather than one or two specific things. □ …a generalised discussion about admirable singers. □ …generalised feelings of inadequacy.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You use generalized to describe medical conditions or problems which affect the whole of someone's body, or the whole of a part of their body. [MEDICAL ] □ She experienced an increase in generalized aches and pains. □ …generalised muscle disorders.
ge n|er|al kno wl|edge N‑UNCOUNT General knowledge is knowledge about many different things, as opposed to detailed knowledge about one particular subject.
gen|er|al|ly ◆◆◇ /dʒe nrəli/
1 ADV [ADV with v] You use generally to give a summary of a situation, activity, or idea without referring to the particular details of it. □ University teachers generally have admitted a lack of enthusiasm about their subjects. □ Speaking generally, the space enterprise has served astronomy well.
2 ADV [ADV with v] You use generally to say that something happens or is used on most occasions but not on every occasion. □ As women we generally say and feel too much about these things. □ It is generally true that the darker the fruit the higher its iron content. □ Generally speaking, his judgment is sound. SYNONYMS generally ADV 1
usually: Usually, the work is boring.
typically: It typically takes a day or two, depending on size.
normally: Normally, the transportation system in Paris carries 950,000 passengers a day.
on the whole: On the whole, people miss the opportunity to enjoy leisure.
mostly: …men and women, mostly in their 30s.
ge n|er|al pra c|tice (general practices )
1 N‑UNCOUNT When a doctor is in general practice , he or she treats sick people at a surgery or office, or visits them at home, and does not specialize in a particular type of medicine. □ In recent years, doctors have been trained specifically for general practice. ● N‑COUNT General practice is also a noun. □ The sample was selected from the medical records of two general practices.
2 N‑UNCOUNT When lawyers deal with all kinds of legal matters, rather than specializing in one kind of law, you can say they have a general practice or are in general practice . [mainly AM ]
ge n|er|al prac|ti |tion|er (general practitioners ) N‑COUNT A general practitioner is the same as a GP . [BRIT , FORMAL ]
ge n|er|al pu b|lic N‑SING [with sing or pl verb] You can refer to the people in a society as the general public , especially when you are contrasting people in general with a small group. □ These charities depend on the compassionate feelings and generosity of the general public. □ Unemployment is 10 percent among the general public and about 40 percent among North African immigrants.
ge n|er|al stri ke (general strikes ) N‑COUNT A general strike is a situation where most or all of the workers in a country are on strike and are refusing to work.
gen|er|ate ◆◇◇ /dʒe nəre I t/ (generates , generating , generated )