Definition of SUI GENERIS

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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 Tanuki Southeast Portland’s sui generis, no-kids-allowed, two-days-a-week Okinawan/Korean omakase spot pulled the plug in January after nearly a decade at two locations, first in Northwest Portland, then SOutheast Portland’s Montavilla neighborhood. — oregonlive, "Portland’s most painful restaurant closures of 2019," 27 Dec. 2019 As myriad analysts have already argued, Trump is not a sui generis figure, but a symptom of American politics and, in particular, of the radicalization of the American right. — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, "Trump’s impeachment battle is part of a bigger global crisis in democracy," 4 Oct. 2019 The two cracked beams proved to be sui generis, the problem confined to a single stretch of roof above Fremont Street. — John Brant, Popular Mechanics, "It Was Supposed to Be the Safest Building in the World. Then It Cracked.," 25 Oct. 2019 And that, perhaps, is Alice Neel’s best last laugh: nakedly herself, sui generis, and hot in demand up and down the Eastern seaboard. — Julia Felsenthal, Vogue, "Searching for Myself in Alice Neel’s Radical Portraits," 26 Feb. 2019 These recurring premises took shape as a series of aggressively odd books, each sui generis in its formal and compositional mechanics. — Paul Grimstad, The New Yorker, "The Absolute Originality of Georges Perec," 16 July 2019 Chamberlain, on the other hand, is sui generis, which is surely part of her appeal. — Taylor Lorenz, The Atlantic, "Emma Chamberlain and the Rise of the Relatable YouTuber," 3 July 2019 The troupe’s sui generis productions — skits, movement-rich vignettes and musical interludes, linked by retro motifs — are typically feats of comic whimsy, sometimes flecked with wistful lyricism. — Celia Wren, Washington Post, "Angst and comedy among the Olympians in ‘Pantheon’," 24 June 2019 But the New York Times is sui generis in American journalism. — Lionel Shriver, Harper's magazine, "Fifty-Fifty Follies," 10 June 2019

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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Last Updated

4 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Sui generis.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sui%20generis. Accessed 22 January 2020.