as in stereotype
an idea or statement about all of the members of a group or all the instances of a situation
the generalization that children who like violent entertainment grow up to be violent criminals
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of generalization
This is a generalization, of course, and many only children are very social with other kids.
—
Cynthia Hanson, Parents, 17 Feb. 2026
Those decisions remain governed by statute and must be based on individualized assessments, not generalizations.
—Charlotte Observer, 13 Feb. 2026
They're exhausted by the constant airing of grievances having little to do with what's actually going on in the country, and by the broad generalizations about, well, everything, that ignore context, nuance and facts to promote a political viewpoint.
—Brenda Looper, Arkansas Online, 11 Feb. 2026
At Tuesday’s meeting, the issue hit close to home as South Asian residents challenged generalizations made about their community.
—Dallas Morning News, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for generalization
Cynthia Hanson, Parents, 17 Feb. 2026
Those decisions remain governed by statute and must be based on individualized assessments, not generalizations.
—Charlotte Observer, 13 Feb. 2026
They're exhausted by the constant airing of grievances having little to do with what's actually going on in the country, and by the broad generalizations about, well, everything, that ignore context, nuance and facts to promote a political viewpoint.
—Brenda Looper, Arkansas Online, 11 Feb. 2026
At Tuesday’s meeting, the issue hit close to home as South Asian residents challenged generalizations made about their community.
—Dallas Morning News, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for generalization
Recent Examples of Synonyms for generalization
Noun
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Davis is wry and quietly defiant of stereotype, her Elaine’s composure hard-won and her sacrifice of certain kinds of sympathy fully comprehensible.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
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This movie, based on a real-life 1940s women's professional baseball team, was ahead of its time in dispelling gender stereotypes.—
Karen Cicero,
Parents,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Each missile can carry multiple nuclear warheads using the Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles (MIRV) concept, enabling a single launch to strike several targets.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Mar. 2026
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If a concept just doesn’t make sense, try explaining it out loud to a friend.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Instead, a narrator gives a somewhat notion of what’s what in the language of the audience, as is Akhnaten’s great aria, a hymn to Aten (god of the sun).—
Classical Music Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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After three straight trips to the Cup Final, that notion is laughable.—
Jesse Granger,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The black marks across Buckley’s face in the film are, in the production’s visual conception, the ink of Shelley’s own manuscript bleeding out — a woman underground for two centuries, unable to finish the thought.—
Kennedy French,
Variety,
6 Mar. 2026
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Second, however, at the chasm between the Framers’ conceptions of Presidential war power and the unbounded nature of that authority today.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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At universities, the study of ancient Chinese texts has historically been scattered across disciplines; now, under government direction, universities are trying to gather that scholarship in new classics departments where, one theory goes, ancient truths can be nurtured and passed down.—
Chang Che,
New Yorker,
8 Mar. 2026
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His panels included doctors, physicists, engineers and others and their reports in 2020 and 2022, proposed a theory of the incidents.—
Will Croxton,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Generalization.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/generalization. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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