generic
Americanadjective
-
of, applicable to, or referring to all the members of a genus, class, group, or kind; not specific; general.
- Antonyms:
- specific
-
of, relating to, or noting a genus especially in biology.
-
(of a word) applicable or referring to both men and women.
a generic pronoun.
-
not protected by trademark registration.
“Cola” and “shuttle” are generic terms.
- Synonyms:
- unbranded
-
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.
noun
-
something that is generic.
-
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.
-
a wine made from two or more varieties of grapes, with no one grape constituting more than half the product (distinguished from varietal).
adjective
-
applicable or referring to a whole class or group; general
-
biology of, relating to, or belonging to a genus
the generic name
-
denoting the nonproprietary name of a drug, food product, etc
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of generic
First recorded in 1670–80; from Latin gener- ( see 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.
Vocabulary lists containing generic
100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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Uglies
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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.
AstraZeneca said it benefited from double-digit sales growth in its oncology, respiratory and immunology, and rare disease therapeutic areas, which allowed it to offset hits from generic competition for aging medicines Farxiga and Brilinta.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
“No one’s gonna be stoked to find out it’s just a generic white guy from Florida,” Rispoli, 41, said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
At the land border with Benin, health forms were generic, asking about fevers but not mentioning Ebola and without temperature checks, an AFP reporter observed.
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026
Those resorts were once synonymous with the most generic budget vacations — packed buffets, weak drinks, brightly colored beachfront hotels that vacationers never leave — observed Bernstein analysts in a note on Friday.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
His feet are so large, too large for his short body, and the new generic tennis shoes he wears since his old ones were pissed in look almost like clown shoes.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
