sui generis

adjective

sui ge·​ner·​is ˌsü-ˌī-ˈje-nə-rəs  ˌsü-ē-ˈje- 

-ˈge-

: constituting a class alone : unique, peculiar

Did you know?

Many English words 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, and gender. But sui generis is truly a one-of-a-kind genus descendant that English speakers have used to describe singular things since the late 1600s. Its earliest uses were in scientific contexts, but where it once mostly characterized substances, principles, diseases, and even rocks thought to be the only representative of their class or group, its use expanded by the early 1900s, and it is now used more generally for anything that stands alone.

Synonyms

• only
• one
• lone
• special
• unique

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

By flouting all conventions in the face of rock and roll and making a mellifluous spectacle of the music that moved through his body like a thought from God, Jarrett has become a peerless symbol of artistic purity, his talent singular, his every note sui generis. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 17 Oct. 2025

His photography is truly rare—sui generis. —Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025

People think that this fake news phenomenon is a sui generis invention of the digital age. —JSTOR Daily, 16 Oct. 2025

One Battle After Another, the sui generis 162-minute epic that’s now in wide release, is many movies in one. —Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin, of its own kind

First Known Use

1615, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sui generis

• ungenerous
• generous

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Legal Definition

sui generis

adjective

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

: 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

Etymology

Latin, of its own kind