as in stereotype
an idea or statement about all of the members of a group or all the instances of a situation the generalization that children who like violent entertainment grow up to be violent criminals

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of generalization Instead of making sweeping generalizations, Sagaram recommends zeroing in on specific actions. Jenna Ryu, SELF, 7 Aug. 2025 This generalization should hold for interstellar interlopers as well. Phil Plait, Scientific American, 25 July 2025 Following an update last week, the chatbot began making broad generalizations about people with Jewish last names and perpetuating antisemitic stereotypes about Hollywood. Julia Shapero, The Hill, 10 July 2025 In the article, Fashion for Good argues that the generalization that cotton is a thirsty crop and claims that one kilogram of cotton fiber consumes 20,000 liters of water is inaccurate. Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 26 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for generalization
Recent Examples of Synonyms for generalization
Noun
  • For decades, unflattering stereotypes of gamers as lethargic young men engaging in an isolating hobby have persevered in popular culture.
    Andrew McGowan, Variety, 8 Oct. 2025
  • But trends, especially on social media, that fallback on body-shaming stereotypes casting thinness as a virtue haven't disappeared.
    Stephanie Ganz, Parents, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • This prefabricated container home features two bedrooms, a bathroom, and an open-concept kitchen and living space.
    Jessica Comstock, Southern Living, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Instead of nurturing bold concepts through this early stage, investors are now implicitly asking that entrepreneurs crawl through it alone.
    Roman Axelrod, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Diné scholar Melanie Yazzie challenges notions about the relationship between decolonization and development.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 11 Oct. 2025
  • So [in the film], there’s this sort of notion that, if a movie star kind of represents us in all our failings and humanity, what does that mean exactly?
    Damon Wise, Deadline, 11 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Appropriate to the popular conception of the morose genius, Poe’s initial 1849 funeral, held amidst the October gloom, was sparsely attended.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2025
  • And yet, welcoming that idea can shock the system because our popular conception of the American Revolution is so often encased in bloodless, gallant myth.
    Sarah Botstein, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The Nikumaroro theory suggests that Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, landed on the island’s reef before their plane was swept away.
    Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Although Robson took more than a decade to put his theory to the test, his experiments in the 1980s proved his hunch was correct.
    Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Generalization.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/generalization. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.

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