generally

American  

[jen-er-uh-lee] / ˈdʒɛn ər ə li /

adverb

1. usually; commonly; ordinarily.

   He generally comes home at noon.

   Antonyms:

   seldom

2. with respect to the larger part; for the most part.

   a generally accurate interpretation of the facts.

3. without reference to or disregarding particular persons, things, situations, etc., that may be an exception.

   generally speaking.

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generally British  

/ ˈdʒɛnrəlɪ /

adverb

1. usually; as a rule

2. commonly or widely

3. without reference to specific details or facts; broadly

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Related Words

See often.

Etymology

Origin of generally

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; general + -ly

Example Sentences

This makes it a welcome passenger on lazy day trips or late-night drives, and a generally acceptable ambient addition to crowded good times.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

Crosstown rivals General Motors and Ford Motor have generally always sold more cars, and Chrysler was affectionately called the “little brother” of the car triumvirate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

Simo, who also leads OpenAI’s communications team, had been talking to CEO Sam Altman about finding a way to own the messaging around not just their company, but AI more generally.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Although we generally think of macroeconomic shocks like we saw in the Covid-19 pandemic as being recessionary, often recession contributors are more sector-specific.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

His Italian is so bad that when he tried to speak to anyone he would generally just end up insulting them.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Related Words

• broadly
• commonly
• customarily
• largely
• mostly
• normally
• ordinarily
• publicly
• roughly
• typically
• universally
• usually
• widely