sui generis

adjective

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sui ge·ner·is | \ ˌsü-ˌī-ˈje-nə-rəs

; ˌsü-ē-ˈje-, -ˈge-

Definition of sui generis

: constituting a class alone : unique, peculiar

Synonyms Did you know? Example Sentences Learn More About sui generis

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Did you know?

English contains many terms that ultimately trace back to the Latin forms gener- or "genus" (which are variously translated as "birth," "race," "kind," and "class"). Offspring of those roots include "general," "generate," "generous," "generic," "degenerate," and "gender." But "sui generis" is truly a one-of-a-kind "gener-" descendant that English speakers have used for singular things since the late 1600s. Its earliest uses were in scientific contexts, where it identified substances, principles, diseases, and even rocks that were unique or that seemed to be the only representative of their class or group. By the early 1900s, however, "sui generis" had expanded beyond solely scientific contexts, and it is now used more generally for anything that stands alone.

Examples of sui generis in a Sentence

among history's greats Leonardo da Vinci is often considered sui generis—a man of such stupendous genius that the world may never see his like again

Recent Examples on the Web This is how everyone in the family remembers Bobby: as a sui generis creature, exceptional and otherworldly, descended from the heavens through a basketball hoop. — Jennifer Senior, The Atlantic, 9 Aug. 2021 The woodcuts are sui generis, in a mode that can seem, befuddlingly, equidistant from prints and paintings. — Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 19 July 2021 What’s your sense of whether Trump was sui generis or a particularly bad symptom of trends that had already been going on in the Republican Party? — David Marchesephotograph By Mamadi Doumbouya, New York Times, 2 July 2021 His sui generis scores for chamber orchestras, piano and voice are vibrant, freeform artifacts, which consistently rupture the boundaries between minimalism, free jazz, gospel music, No Wave, and performance art. — Erik Morse, Vogue, 24 June 2021 The secret is in unraveling the sui generis of each virtual team. — Jedidiah Alex Koh, Forbes, 4 June 2021 The late Marchionne was a former accountant who as CEO of Fiat Chrysler for a decade was sui generis. — Dale Buss, Forbes, 1 June 2021 In the spring of 2021, Kyrie is the sui generis, the capo di tutti capi of Boston bad apples. — BostonGlobe.com, 22 May 2021 Like many Harper’s readers of my generation, I was first brought to the magazine by David Foster Wallace’s sui generis reporting from cruise ships and state fairs. — Christopher Beha, Harpers Magazine, 5 Jan. 2021

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

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Dictionary Entries Near sui generis

suigenderism

sui generis

sui heredes

Statistics for sui generis

Last Updated

20 Aug 2021

Cite this Entry

“Sui generis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sui%20generis. Accessed 10 Sep. 2021.

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More Definitions for sui generis

sui generis

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of sui generis

: in a class or group of its own : not like anything else

See the full definition for sui generis in the English Language Learners Dictionary

sui generis

adjective

sui ge·ner·is | \ ˈsü-ˌī-ˈje-nə-rəs, ˈsü-ē-

Legal Definition of sui generis

: constituting a class alone : unique or particular to itself the lawyer's…ad that makes no distinction among various legal and factual nuances in each sui generis case has the potential to mislead — National Law Journal