Meanings
noungeneralization (countable and uncountable, plural generalizations)
plural generalizations · alternative generalisation
- countableuncountableAn act or instance of generalizing; concluding that something true of a subclass is true of the entire class.
- countableuncountableThe formulation of general concepts from specific instances by abstracting common properties.
Synonyms: universalization · Antonyms: specialization, concretization, individualization, particularization, singularization, specialization
- countableuncountableAn oversimplified or exaggerated conception, opinion, or image of the members of a group.
- countableuncountablemathematicsA proof, axiom, problem, or definition that includes another's cases, and also some additional cases; a conclusion reached by inferring from specific cases to more general cases or principles.
A hypersphere is a generalization of a sphere across more than three dimensions.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe formulation of general concepts from specific instances by abstracting common properties.
Similar
More synonyms by meaning
nounreasoning from detailed facts to general principles
Broader
nounan idea or conclusion having general application
Similar
nounthe process of formulating general concepts by abstracting common properties of instances
Similar
Broader
noun(psychology) transfer of a response learned to one stimulus to a similar stimulus
Similar
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*ǵenh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*ǵénh₁os
- Proto-Italic*genos
- Latingenus, generis
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Latingenerāli
- Anglo-Normangenera
- Middle Frenchgenera
- Latingenerālis
- Middle Englishgeneral
- Englishgeneral
- Englishgeneralization
Translations
Afrikaans generalisasie
- generalisasieformulation of general concepts
Arabic تَعْمِيم, تَعْمِيم
- تَعْمِيم (taʕmīm)formulation of general concepts
- تَعْمِيم (taʕmīm)inductive reasoning
Bulgarian генерализация
- генерализация (generalizacija)formulation of general concepts
Catalan generalització, generalització
- generalitzacióformulation of general concepts
- generalitzacióinductive reasoning
Czech generalizace, generalizace
- generalizaceformulation of general concepts
- generalizaceinductive reasoning
- zobecněníinductive reasoning
Danish generalisering, generalisering
- generaliseringformulation of general concepts
- generaliseringinductive reasoning
Dutch generalisatie
- generalisatieformulation of general concepts
Finnish yleistäminen, yleistys
- yleistäminenformulation of general concepts
- yleistysinductive reasoning
- yleistämineninductive reasoning
French généralisation, généralisation
- généralisationformulation of general concepts
- généralisationinductive reasoning
German Verallgemeinerung, Generalisierung
- Verallgemeinerungformulation of general concepts
- Generalisierungformulation of general concepts
- Verallgemeinerunginductive reasoning
- Generalisierunginductive reasoning
Hungarian általánosítás, általánosítás
- általánosításformulation of general concepts
- általánosításinductive reasoning
Indonesian perampatan, penyamarataan
- perampatanformulation of general concepts
- penyamarataanformulation of general concepts
- generalisasiformulation of general concepts
- penyamarataaninductive reasoning
- generalisasiinductive reasoning
Italian generalizzazione, generalizzazione
- generalizzazioneformulation of general concepts
- generalizzazioneinductive reasoning
Japanese 汎化
- 汎化 (hanka)formulation of general concepts
Malay penyeluruhan, generalisasi
- penyeluruhanformulation of general concepts
- generalisasiformulation of general concepts
- pengitlakanformulation of general concepts
- penyeluruhaninductive reasoning
- generalisasiinductive reasoning
- pengitlakaninductive reasoning
Māori tukipūtanga
- tukipūtangaformulation of general concepts
Norwegian Bokmål generalisering
- generaliseringformulation of general concepts
Polish uogólnienie, generalizacja
- uogólnienieformulation of general concepts
- generalizacjaformulation of general concepts
- uogólnienieinductive reasoning
- generalizacjainductive reasoning
Portuguese generalização, generalização
- generalizaçãoformulation of general concepts
- generalizaçãoinductive reasoning
Romanian generalizare, generalizație
- generalizareformulation of general concepts
- generalizațieformulation of general concepts
- generalizareinductive reasoning
Russian обобще́ние, генерализа́ция
- обобще́ние (obobščénije)formulation of general concepts
- генерализа́ция (generalizácija)formulation of general concepts
- обобще́ние (obobščénije)inductive reasoning
- генерализа́ция (generalizácija)inductive reasoning
Scottish Gaelic ginearalachadh, ginearalachadh
- ginearalachadhformulation of general concepts
- ginearalachadhinductive reasoning
Slovak generalizácia
- generalizáciaformulation of general concepts
Spanish generalización, generalización
- generalizaciónformulation of general concepts
- generalizacióninductive reasoning
Swedish generalisering, generalisering
- generaliseringformulation of general concepts
- generaliseringinductive reasoning
Turkish jeneralizasyon
- jeneralizasyonformulation of general concepts
Ukrainian узага́льнення, генералізація
- узага́льнення (uzahálʹnennja)formulation of general concepts
- генералізація (heneralizacija)formulation of general concepts
- узага́льнення (uzahálʹnennja)inductive reasoning
Vietnamese khái quát hoá
- khái quát hoáformulation of general concepts
Welsh cyffredinoliad
- cyffredinoliadformulation of general concepts
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with generalization
informationeducationlocationapplicationassociationadministrationorganizationcorporationregistrationAsianfoundationcommunicationpopulationnavigationstationaccommodationoperationpublicationvacationtransportationevaluationimplementationinstallationnation
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
generalization. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/generalization
MLA
“generalization.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/generalization. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “generalization,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/generalization.
Source: generalization on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.