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

He showed us CCF documents that said the information Russia had provided was "generic and formulaic" and there had been an "inadequate explanation" of the alleged crime.

From BBC

Across three design generations, the Crosstrek’s interiors have been crime scenes of indifference, with dated electronics, deprived material comforts and generic style.

From The Wall Street Journal

He said this was problematic because such "generic" evidence had been "struck out" of the case by the judge, Mr Justice Nicklin, in 2025.

From BBC

“The reality is that pharmaceutical ads have become kind of themselves, generic, right?”

From The Wall Street Journal

Last year, he ruled that he wouldn't accept these "generic" claims.

From BBC

Related Words

• universal