generalize

American  

[jen-er-uh-lahyz] / ˈdʒɛn ər əˌlaɪz /

especially British, generalise

verb (used with object)

• generalizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• generalized,
  past participle,  past
• generalizing
  present participle

1. to infer (a general principle, trend, etc.) from particular facts, statistics, or the like.

2. to infer or form (a general principle, opinion, conclusion, etc.) from only a few facts, examples, or the like.

3. to give a general rather than a specific or special character or form to.

4. to make general; bring into general use or knowledge.

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verb (used without object)

• generalizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• generalized,
  past participle,  past
• generalizing
  present participle

1. to form general principles, opinions, etc.

2. to deal, think, or speak in generalities.

3. to make general inferences.

generalize British  

/ ˈdʒɛnrəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. to form (general principles or conclusions) from (detailed facts, experience, etc); infer

2. (intr) to think or speak in generalities, esp in a prejudiced way

3. (tr; usually passive) to cause to become widely used or known

4. (intr)

   1. to spread throughout the body

   2. to change from a localized infection or condition to a systemic one

      generalized infection

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• generalizer
  noun
• generalizable
  adjective
• nongeneralized
  adjective
• ungeneralized
  adjective
• ungeneralizing
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• generalizing
  present
• generalized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• generalize
  simple
• generalizes
  simple
• have generalized
  perfect
• has generalized
  perfect
• am generalizing
  progressive
• are generalizing
  progressive
• is generalizing
  progressive
• have been generalizing
  perfect progressive
• has been generalizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• generalized
  simple
• had generalized
  perfect
• was generalizing
  progressive
• were generalizing
  progressive
• had been generalizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will generalize
  simple
• will have generalized
  perfect
• will be generalizing
  progressive
• will have been generalizing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of generalize

First recorded in 1745–55; general + -ize

Explanation

To generalize is to use specific examples to make broader points. Generalizing makes large points, though they aren't always necessarily true. When someone says "in general" they're talking about what things are like in the big picture or overall. Similarly, generalizing takes small examples and uses them to make bigger points. Saying that all teens are selfish because you know a few selfish teens is generalizing. Saying all adults are uptight is an example of generalizing. Unfortunately, generalizing can be dangerous. Stereotyping is a form of generalizing. Sometimes it’s better to stick to specific examples and to avoid generalizing.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

generalize generalizes generalized generalizing

I don’t mean to generalize, but as people age, it’s not unusual for them to undergo behavioral changes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

If we back up, you can’t generalize with every single race that the nonincumbent is going to win.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026

My own purchase is not the case to generalize from.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

“These specialized architectures can be excellent in narrow slices of inference, but they don’t generalize well to the kind of workloads the frontier is converging on.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

While it never pays to generalize, those who appear not to be the most computer literate often rely on keeping old- fashioned notes so that they don’t forget stuff like user names and passwords.

From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben

"We're working hard to increase representation, so we can be even more confident in how this generalizes to the population at large, especially communities typically underrepresented in research."

From Science Daily ● Jun. 13, 2026

If Hu and his colleagues can show this behavior generalizes to other materials, he says, physicists may have to revise established models for environments such as outer space or planetary interiors, including Earth's.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 28, 2023

Another clear pitfall of the Pace approach is that it generalizes calories burnt.

From Salon ● Nov. 14, 2022

“Outlier II” involves an A.I.-generated melody that generalizes over time, gradually losing nuance before being disrupted by a series of chance-based improvisations.

From New York Times ● Nov. 3, 2022

As a moral declaration the old truism seems perfectly true, and yet because it abstracts, because it generalizes, I can’t believe it with my stomach.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

Fractons, exotic quasiparticles previously predicted in quantum spin liquids using highly generalized gauge field theories, have now also appeared in simulations of a more realistic quantum solid-state model.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

The good news is, per Gifford, that there are less generalized models out there that are tailored to much more exacting needs.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

Higher prices have a more generalized effect on economic growth, which can’t be attributed to specific products.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

She detects a generalized funk poisoning our existence and asks, not unreasonably, “What is with this bummer veil cast over everything fun or exciting?”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

“Your father means that you used a very generalized word, so meaningless that it’s become almost obsolete,” his mother explained carefully.

From "The Giver" by Lois Lowry

If this were a one-off event, we would want to avoid generalizing.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 3, 2026

It requires a model capable of generalizing or learning to reason, rather than pattern matching.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025

In the next months, Svoboda and the scientists from the Chatterjee group will work on generalizing their results to other games and different settings.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 6, 2024

It then falters by generalizing a history that, with some added details, could have better emphasized Lil Nas X’s current impact on culture.

From New York Times ● Jan. 25, 2024

Reasoning by induction—the process of generalizing from the available evidence—is the only real way of making progress in the world of things.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith