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general will

British

noun

(in the philosophy of Rousseau) the source of legitimate authority residing in the collective will as contrasted with individual interests

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A second phase of the trial is coming in which the state’s attorney general will be asking a judge to grant further relief, including forcing Meta to verify the age of users in the state.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

You’re skeptical of the claim that Black communities in general will benefit from municipal demolition in the form that it has taken, not least because it’s such a broad categorization.

From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026

Instead of finding practical compromises through negotiation, politics became a matter of discerning what Jean-Jacques Rousseau called the general will of the people and then implementing it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

"Once that initial work has concluded, the auditor general will determine whether any further audit work is necessary on these matters."

From BBC • Aug. 8, 2025

“Commissary general, will you make the fire and get water, while Miss March, Miss Sallie, and I spread the table? Who can make good coffee?”

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023