generalization

noun

gen·er·al·i·za·tion ˌjen-rə-lə-ˈzā-shən

ˌje-nə-

Synonyms of generalization next

: the act or process of generalizing

: a general statement, law, principle, or proposition

made broad generalizations about women

: the act or process whereby a learned response is made to a stimulus similar to but not identical with the conditioned stimulus

Examples of generalization in a Sentence

He made several sweeping generalizations about women. She was prone to generalization.

Recent Examples on the Web His powers of observation, and skill at generalization, were evident at the outset. —

Joseph Epstein, WSJ, 3 Nov. 2023 This generalization leads to another concept from number theory. —

Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 24 Oct. 2023 Yet, challenges persist, including generalization across scenarios, maintaining reliability, and ensuring real-time responsiveness. —

IEEE Spectrum, 13 Oct. 2023 Moss and Levene push back against his generalizations, accusations and abuse; Aaronow does not. —

Jason Bailey, New York Times, 30 June 2023 Tax Implications Each situation is different, so generalizations are difficult. —

Mike Ford, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2023 This is a generalization, so take it and condense it. —

Jem Aswad, Variety, 20 Oct. 2023 Automorphic forms are a generalization of periodic functions like the sine in trigonometry, whose outputs endlessly repeat as inputs grow. —

Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, 12 Oct. 2023 That seems to be why the brain sorts its memories into different categories that are stored separately, with the neocortex used for reliable generalizations and the hippocampus for exceptions. —

Saugat Bolakhe, Quanta Magazine, 30 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'generalization.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.