general
General, gen., gen, Gen., Gen, genl, gen'l, Genl, Gen'l
generall (obsolete)
From Middle English general, in turn from Anglo-Norman general, generall, Middle French general, and their source, Latin generālis, from genus (“class, kind”) + -ālis (“-al”); thus morphologically parallel with, and a doublet of, generic.
(UK, US, Canada) enPR: jĕnʹ(ə)rəl, IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛn.(ə.)ɹəl/
(General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒen.(ə.)ɹəl/
Hyphenation: gene‧ral, (chiefly US) gen‧er‧al
Rhymes: (US) -ɛnəɹəl
general (comparative more general, superlative most general)
Including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole, etc.; common to all, universal. [from 13th c.]
Synonyms: common, universal; see also Thesaurus:generic
Antonyms: specific, particular; see also Thesaurus:specific
(sometimes postpositive) Applied to a person (as a postmodifier or a normal preceding adjective) to indicate supreme rank, in civil or military titles, and later in other terms; pre-eminent. [from 14th c.]
Prevalent or widespread among a given class or area; common, usual. [from 14th c.]
Synonyms: typical, usual, common; see also Thesaurus:common
Antonyms: abnormal, uncommon
Not limited in use or application; applicable across a broad range. [from 14th c.]
Synonyms: broad, generic; see also Thesaurus:generic
Giving or consisting of only the most important aspects of something, ignoring minor details; indefinite. [from 16th c.]
Not of a specific class; miscellaneous. [from 16th c.]
general (countable and uncountable, plural generals)
(military) The holder of a senior military title, originally designating the commander of an army and now a specific rank falling under field marshal (in the British army) and below general of the army or general of the air force in the US army and air forces. [from 16th c.]
A great strategist or tactician. [from 16th c.]
(now rare) A general fact or proposition; a generality. [from 16th c.]
(Christianity) The head of certain religious orders, especially Dominicans or Jesuits. [from 16th c.]
(nautical) A commander of naval forces; an admiral. [16th–18th c.]
(colloquial, now historical) A general servant; a maid with no specific duties. [from 19th c.]
(countable) A general anesthetic.
(uncountable) General anesthesia.
(uncountable, insurance) The general insurance industry.
(xiangqi) A xiangqi piece that is moved one point orthogonally and confined within the palace.
When used as a title, it is always capitalized, as in “General John Doe”.
(high-ranking military officer):
brigadier general
colonel general
general of the air force
general of the army
lieutenant general
major general
sergeant major general, sergeant-major general
(insurance industry): health, life, pensions
hetman
general (third-person singular simple present generals, present participle generalling or generaling, simple past and past participle generalled or generaled)
To lead (soldiers) as a general.
general (not comparable)
(obsolete) In a general or collective manner or sense; in most cases; upon the whole.
enlarge, gleaner, reangle
yaranal (archaic)
Ultimately from Latin generālis.
IPA(key): [ɟeneˈrɑɫ]
Hyphenation: ge‧ne‧ral
general (definite accusative generalı, plural generallar)
general
“general” in Obastan.com.
Borrowed from Latin generālis.
IPA(key): (Central, Balearic) [ʒə.nəˈɾal]
IPA(key): (Valencia) [d͡ʒe.neˈɾal]
general m or f (masculine and feminine plural generals)
general
general m (plural generals, feminine generala)
(military) general
“general” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
“general”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
“general” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
“general” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
general c (singular definite generalen, plural indefinite generaler)
general
general m (feminine singular generala, masculine plural generai, feminine plural generales)
general
generall, generale
From a mixture of Anglo-Norman general, Middle French general, and Latin generālis.
IPA(key): /dʒɛnəˈraːl/, /ˈdʒɛnəral/
general
universal, complete
comprehensive, wide-ranging
general, widely useable or applicable
common, widely present
generally
English: general
Scots: general
Yola: generale
“ǧenerāl, adj. & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-01.
general (plural generals)
genus, class, group
“ǧenerāl, adj. & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-01.
general m (definite singular generalen, indefinite plural generaler, definite plural generalene)
(military) a general
generalguvernør
general m (definite singular generalen, indefinite plural generalar, definite plural generalane)
(military) a general
generalguvernør
Borrowed from Latin generālis.
general oblique singular, m (oblique plural generaus or generax or generals, nominative singular generaus or generax or generals, nominative plural general)
(military) general
general m (oblique and nominative feminine singular generale)
general (not limited in use or application; applicable to the whole or every member of a class or category)
→ English: general
French: général
Learned borrowing from Latin generālis. Doublet of geral.
Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
Hyphenation: ge‧ne‧ral
general m or f (plural generais)
(military) general (said of the subcategory of armed forces officer with a rank above that of senior officer)
(military) general (said of the military with this subcategory)
(obsolete) general (including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole)
general m (plural generais)
(military) general (highest rank in the category of Army and Air Force officers, whose insignia consists of four stars)
(figuratively) chief, leader
general m or f by sense (plural generais)
(military) general (officer holding that post)
(military) general (designation common to military personnel holding the ranks of general, lieutenant general and major general)
→ Tetum: jenerál
“general” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024.
“general” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
Borrowed from French général, from Latin generālis.
IPA(key): /d͡ʒe.neˈral/
general m (plural generali)
general
general m or n (feminine singular generală, masculine plural generali, feminine and neuter plural generale)
general
Borrowed from German General, from Latin generālis.
IPA(key): /ɡeněraːl/
Hyphenation: ge‧ne‧ral
genèrāl m (Cyrillic spelling генѐра̄л)
(military) general
From German General, from Latin generālis.
IPA(key): /ɡɛnɛráːl/
generȃl m anim (female equivalent generȃlica or generȃlka)
(military) general
“general”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
From Latin generālis.
IPA(key): /xeneˈɾal/ [xe.neˈɾal]
Rhymes: -al
Syllabification: ge‧ne‧ral
general m or f (masculine and feminine plural generales)
general, overall
general m (plural generales, feminine general or generala, feminine plural generales or generalas)
(military) general
general f (plural generales)
(informal, in the plural) general elections
→ Cebuano: heneral
→ Tagalog: heneral
“general”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
From German General, from Old French general, from Latin generālis.
IPA(key): /jɛn(ɛ)ˈrɑːl/
general c
a general; a military title
an Air Chief Marshal
→ Finnish: kenraali