generic

American  

[juh-ner-ik] / dʒəˈnɛr ɪk /

adjective

1. of, applicable to, or referring to all the members of a genus, class, group, or kind; not specific; general.

   Synonyms:

   universal, common

   Antonyms:

   specific

2. of, relating to, or noting a genus especially in biology.

3. (of a word) applicable or referring to both men and women.

   a generic pronoun.

4. not protected by trademark registration.

   “Cola” and “shuttle” are generic terms.

   Synonyms:

   unbranded

5. having no distinguishing characteristics; commonplace.

   There are a lot of generic interviews, and the lack of unique perspective you get from interviewers is somewhat shocking.

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noun

1. something that is generic.

2. any product, as a type of food, drug, or cosmetic commonly marketed under a brand name, that is sold in a package without a brand.

3. a wine made from two or more varieties of grapes, with no one grape constituting more than half the product (varietal ).

generic British  

/ dʒɪˈnɛrɪk /

adjective

1. applicable or referring to a whole class or group; general

2. biology of, relating to, or belonging to a genus

   the generic name

3. denoting the nonproprietary name of a drug, food product, etc

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noun

1. a drug, food product, etc that does not have a trademark

Other Word Forms

• generically adverb
• genericalness noun
• nongeneric adjective
• nongenerical adjective
• nongenerically adverb
• pseudogeneric adjective
• pseudogenerical adjective
• pseudogenerically adverb
• supergeneric adjective
• supergenerically adverb
• ungeneric adjective
• ungenerical adjective
• ungenerically adverb

Etymology

Origin of generic

First recorded in 1670–80; from Latin gener- ( gender ¹ ) + -ic

Example Sentences

As the FDA’s drugs chief, Pazdur was responsible for thousands of employees overseeing most of the new medicines the FDA weighs for approval, as well as over-the-counter and generic drugs.

From The Wall Street Journal

Emails sent through the platform come from Stewart Entertainment’s domain rather than a generic AI address, a deliberate choice meant to avoid spam filters and skepticism from promoters.

From Los Angeles Times

Clorox, whose brands include its namesake cleaner, as well as Hidden Valley, Pine-Sol, and more, has struggled as inflation-addled shoppers sought generic products.

From Barron's

A spokesman for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service said the site was covered by a generic risk assessment for waste fire incidents.

From BBC

That has hurt sales of original, patented brands much sooner in their product life cycles than the more traditional source of low-cost competition, generic drugs that enter the market after patents expire.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• universal