generalization

American  

[jen-er-uh-luh-zey-shuhn] / ˌdʒɛn ər ə ləˈzeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of generalizing.

2. a result of this process; a general statement, idea, or principle.

3. Logic.

   1. a proposition asserting something to be true either of all members of a certain class or of an indefinite part of that class.

   2. the process of obtaining such propositions.

4. Psychology.

   1. Also called stimulus generalization.  the act or process of responding to a stimulus similar to but distinct from the conditioned stimulus.

   2. Also called response generalization.  the act or process of making a different but similar response to the same stimulus.

   3. Also called mediated generalization.  the act or process of responding to a stimulus not physically similar to the conditioned stimulus and not previously encountered in conditioning.

   4. the act or process of perceiving similarity or relation between different stimuli, as between words, colors, sounds, lights, concepts or feelings; the formation of a general notion.

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generalization British  

/ ˌdʒɛnrəlaɪˈzeɪʃən /

noun

1. a principle, theory, etc, with general application

2. the act or an instance of generalizing

3. psychol the evoking of a response learned to one stimulus by a different but similar stimulus See also conditioning

4. logic the derivation of a general statement from a particular one, formally by prefixing a quantifier and replacing a subject term by a bound variable. If the quantifier is universal ( universal generalization ) the argument is not in general valid; if it is existential ( existential generalization ) it is valid

5. logic any statement ascribing a property to every member of a class ( universal generalization ) or to one or more members ( existential generalization )

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Etymology

Origin of generalization

First recorded in 1755–65; generalize + -ation

Example Sentences

This is a generalization not based on facts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

They learn mappings from inputs to outputs, sometimes with impressive generalization, but the computation is still a digital procedure running on hardware built for a very different style of computing.

From Science Daily • Dec. 24, 2025

There are tens of thousands of undocumented university students in higher education throughout the country, so you can’t make this kind of generalization as a justification for engaging in arrest.

From Slate • Sep. 15, 2025

But what Jones and Whewell showed was that, specifically related to agricultural land, Ricardo had crafted a huge generalization that didn't map onto the reality of the situation.

From Salon • Feb. 1, 2025

Wilkerson begins the paragraph by stating that the actions of her protagonists are universal, but she does not rest with that generalization.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• acumen
• analysis
• argument
• hypothesis
• inference
• interpretation
• premise
• proposition
• rationale
• thinking