general
adjective · noun · verb
Simple meaning
Including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
jehneruhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdʒɛnɚəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole, etc.; common to all, universal.
Prevalent or widespread among a given class or area; common, usual.
Not limited in use or application; applicable across a broad range.
Giving or consisting of only the most important aspects of something, ignoring minor details; indefinite.
Not of a specific class; miscellaneous.
noun
Alternative letter-case form of general in its various senses.
A great strategist or tactician.
uncountable
General anesthesia.
countable
A general anesthetic.
verb
Command as a general
“We are generaled by an incompetent!”
To lead (soldiers) as a general.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole, etc.; common to all, universal.
Used this way, general is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use general
- “He discussed the general but neglected the particular.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
All the people living at the same time or of approximately the same age.
Wine that does not meet the minimum qualifications and standards for use of a designation by appellation of origin (where the grapes are grown) or by varietal content.
Usually.
Without a trademark or brand name.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The ledger that contains all of the financial accounts of a business.
A lien on all the property owned by a debtor and not just a specific property.
The highest ranking manager.
The branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis and (nonsurgical) treatment of diseases of the internal organs (especially in adults).
Officers in the Army or Air Force or Marines above the rank of colonel.
A physician who is not a specialist but treats all illnesses.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Reasoning from detailed facts to general principles.
An idea or conclusion having general application.
Draw from specific cases for more general cases.
Wine that does not meet the minimum qualifications and standards for use of a designation by appellation of origin (where the grapes are grown) or by varietal content.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: including or involving every part
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.