generalization

noun gen·er·al·i·za·tion \ ˌjen-rə-lə-ˈzā-shən , ˌje-nə- \

|Updated on: 22 Jul 2018

Examples: generalization in a Sentence

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

See generalization defined for English-language learners

See generalization defined for kids

Examples of generalization in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of generalization from the Web

This obviously is a generalization, but perhaps there are enough players leaving non-European homes, and at an earlier age, to impact chemistry or tactical cohesion back with their senior national sides, which gather and play only intermittently.

— brian straus, SI.com, "The Factors and Figures Behind Europe's World Cup Dominance Trend," 8 July 2018
The twenty-inch isohyet offered a valuable generalization — conventional agriculture simply could not work without twenty or more inches a year, unless supplemented by irrigation.

— johnforristerross, Longreads, "Taming the Great American Desert," 2 July 2018
The purpose of Fraser’s capsule histories is to rise above this kind of generalization, in favor of more specific accounts of how class rose and fell in American politics and culture at one time or another.

— jedediah purdy, The New Republic, "The Remaking of Class," 27 June 2018
But that generalization hides a major, growing gender gap among the young folks.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Gigantic Gender Gap Opening Up Among Younger Voters," 21 June 2018
Gatsby’s fortune, business, even his connection with underworld figures, remain vague generalizations.

— New York Times, "Notes From the Book Review Archives," 20 Apr. 2018
All of it involves gross generalizations that don’t take into account the perspective of the woman.

— rebecca farley, refinery29.com, "Now Is A Great Time To Revisit John Mulaney's "Ocean's Eleven With Women" Joke," 30 May 2018
After that, many generalizations followed: newer versions of the counterfeit coin problem included finding multiple fake coins, differentiating between coins of arbitrary weights, and so on.

— nicholas diaco, Scientific American, "Privacy and Counterfeit Coins," 20 Mar. 2018
The best that could be hoped for would be some broad generalizations about peaceful use of cyberspace, which might be sandwiched in a larger statement about good relations between the two sides.

— derek hawkins, Washington Post, "The Cybersecurity 202: North Korea is even less likely to give up hacking than nukes," 1 June 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.

Origin and Etymology of generalization

generalize + -ation

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1761

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

generalization Synonyms

Synonyms

concept, conception, generality, notion, stereotype;

adage, proverb, saw, saying;

oversimplification, simplification;

GENERALIZATION Defined for English Language Learners

generalization

noun

Definition of generalization for English Language Learners

: a general statement : a statement about a group of people or things that is based on only a few people or things in that group
: the act or process of forming opinions that are based on a small amount of information