generalize

American  

[jen-er-uh-lahyz] / ˈdʒɛn ər əˌlaɪz /

especially British, generalise

verb (used with object)

generalized, generalizing

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)

generalized, generalizing

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

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

Etymology

Origin of generalize

First recorded in 1745–55; general + -ize

Example Sentences

For the first time, the researchers derived generalized thermodynamic laws that fully incorporate these correlations.

From Science Daily

"It shows that topological states should be defined in generalized terms."

From Science Daily

"Keeping it in flatter parts of the landscape, where lots of solutions perform similarly well, turns out to be what allows these models to generalize."

From Science Daily

To the extent they acknowledged a world out of joint, it was in generalized calls for love and cooperation.

From Los Angeles Times

"In our article, we show that the generalized dipole model describes the existing data more accurately than previous dipole models and, moreover, works well in a wider range of proton collision energies," Prof. Kutak says.

From Science Daily