Generic

/dʒᵻˈnɛ.ɹɪk/ · adjective

Meaning

Very broad; pertaining or appropriate to large classes or groups as opposed to specific instances..

Definitions by Sense

1. Very broad; pertaining or appropriate to large classes or groups as opposed to specific instances.
2. Lacking in precision, often in an evasive fashion; vague; imprecise.
3. (pharmacology) Of a product or drug, not having a brand name; nonproprietary in design or contents; fungible with the rest of its class.
4. (taxonomy) Pertaining to genera of life instead of particular species thereof.
5. (grammar, nonstandard) Specifying neither masculine nor feminine; epicene; unisex.
6. (computing) Of a procedure, written so as to operate on any data type, the type required being passed as a parameter.
7. (geometry) Of a point, having coordinates that are algebraically independent over the base field.
8. Relating to genre.

Example Sentences

Capri pants can be a generic term for any cropped slim pants.

[…] the essence is that such self-describing poets describe what is in them, but not peculiar to them, – what is generic, not what is special and individual.

The four-and-one-half-day trial was centered on acts that neither she nor prosecutors dispute: On July 13, 2012, she drove her Lexus S.U.V. erratically after swallowing Zolpidem, a generic form of the sleep medication Ambien.

Holonym: familial

Meronyms: infrasubspecific, infraspecific, subspecific, specific

There are scores of generic names within the order Decapoda, which includes many sea creatures that are called shrimp.

Words like salesperson and firefighter are generic.

This included criticism of the generic use of man to include men and women.

Synonyms for generic

Antonyms for generic

Related Words

Word Forms

• more generic
• most generic
• generick
• generics

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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