generalization

noun

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

, ˌje-nə-\

Definition of generalization

1 : the act or process of generalizing

2 : a general statement, law, principle, or proposition made broad generalizations about women

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

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Examples of generalization in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Fortunately, the works on view resist generalization. — New York Times, "The Art of Staying Cool: 10 Can’t-Miss Summer Shows in New York," 4 July 2018 However, any generalizations about environmentalists are absurd. — WSJ, "Well-Sited Wind Towers Make Good Sense," 11 Feb. 2019 With vintage tools, as a generalization, all that stuff was built in that era in America when things were super heavy-duty, the metals in the old machinery were better. — Popular Mechanics, "Iconic Guitar Builder Loses His Home and Workshop to Flames in Paradise," 16 Nov. 2018 But there are exceptions, as there always are, to that kind of generalization. — Sean Illing, Vox, "The case for abolishing the Supreme Court," 12 Oct. 2018 Still, the small population does limit generalization to the species as a whole, and getting data from other baboon parties will be necessary, as well as populations in other places, before drawing firm conclusions. — Cathleen O'grady, Ars Technica, "Some clues about why male Guinea baboons fondle each other’s genitals," 18 Nov. 2018 Okay, full disclosure: The above is a blatant generalization based on a handful of signs Aussies and Kiwis have shown off over the last couple of weeks during the royal tour. — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, "Australians and New Zealanders Are Using Signs With 'Suits' Puns to Get Meghan Markle's Attention," 28 Oct. 2018 Musk has also blamed bottlenecks on over-automation, as well as over-generalization of the manufacturing process. — Megan Geuss, Ars Technica, "Panasonic completing 3 new cell production lines at Tesla’s Gigafactory," 26 Sep. 2018 Her story highlights some of the fatuousness of making broad generational generalizations, not least because most female boomers have had less agency than their daughters. — Emily Bobrow, WSJ, "‘Boomer1’ Review: Retire or We’ll Retire You," 13 Sep. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'generalization.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.