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

Explanation

Generic refers to the members of a whole class of things — like "tissue," a generic word for any soft, thin piece of paper that's good for wiping runny noses. A generic product, whether it's a tire or donut or drug, is typical of all other products like it. There's nothing distinctive or unique about it. A generic fan looks and acts just like dozens of other fans — it doesn't spin backwards or send out sparks. Generic aspirin doesn't have a trademark, like Bayer or St. Joseph: it's just plain aspirin.

Example Sentences

A spokesman for HHS said GSK’s withdrawal on Thursday doesn’t affect generic versions of the drug, which already have updated labels for the genetic condition.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Private-label merchandise no longer means generic, unadorned products sitting on the shelf, but rather filling a hole in the assortment at a decent price point.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

The chemically equivalent generic costs $160 per dose — a steep discount from the brand-name version at $3,000 a dose.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

One of them is a title so generic, so blandly inoffensive yet simultaneously indicative of hope, resolve, or insider knowledge as to be, ultimately, unmemorable.

From Slate • Apr. 3, 2026

We’ve switched to generic cereals, all except for Liz’s muesli.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

Related Words

• universal