overgeneralize
Americanverb (used with or without object)
Usage
What does overgeneralize mean? To overgeneralize is to draw conclusions that are too broad because they exceed what could be logically concluded from the available information.Overgeneralize comes from generalize, meaning to draw broad conclusions. Overgeneralizing is generalizing too much or in a way that leads to faulty conclusions.The noun form of overgeneralize is overgeneralization, which refers to the act of overgeneralizing or an instance of doing so.The word overgeneralize is frequently used in everyday speech, but it can also be used in logic, linguistics, psychology, or other fields of research to mean something a little bit more specific relating to the particular field.Example: The authors are overgeneralizing when they claim that all hospitals lack evacuation plans, since in fact only a small number of hospitals were studied.
Etymology
Origin of overgeneralize
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.
“There will always be individual differences among youth and we need to be careful not to overgeneralize or stereotype them,” said Mr. Plante, a Santa Clara University professor.
From Washington Times • Feb. 21, 2023
“There are these periods children go through where they overgeneralize things,” Gupton says.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 6, 2021
Podhoretz’s mistake was to overgeneralize from his own experience.
From The New Yorker • Apr. 24, 2017
In such movements, Mr. Obama said, “there’s always going to be some folks who say things that are stupid or imprudent, or overgeneralize, or are harsh.”
From New York Times • Jul. 10, 2016
To overgeneralize a bit, the first list describes things that parents are', the second list describes things that parents do.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Definitions 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.
