general

general

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of general in English

English Online Dictionary. What means general‎? What does general mean?

English

Alternative forms

  • General, gen., gen, Gen., Gen, genl, gen'l, Genl, Gen'l
  • generall (obsolete)

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

  • (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

Adjective

general (comparative more general, superlative most general)

  1. 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, special, particular; see also Thesaurus:specific
  2. (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.]
  3. 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
  4. Not limited in use or application; applicable across a broad range. [from 14th c.]
    Synonyms: broad, generic; see also Thesaurus:generic
  5. Giving or consisting of only the most important aspects of something, ignoring minor details; indefinite. [from 16th c.]
  6. Not of a specific class; miscellaneous. [from 16th c.]

Translations

Noun

general (countable and uncountable, plural generals)

  2. (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.]
  4. A great strategist or tactician. [from 16th c.]
  5. (now rare) A general fact or proposition; a generality. [from 16th c.]
  6. (Christianity) The head of certain religious orders, especially Dominicans or Jesuits. [from 16th c.]
  7. (nautical) A commander of naval forces; an admiral. [16th–18th c.]
  8. (colloquial, now historical) A general servant; a maid with no specific duties. [from 19th c.]
  9. (countable) A general anesthetic.
  10. (uncountable) General anesthesia.
  11. (uncountable, insurance) The general insurance industry.
  12. (xiangqi) A xiangqi piece that is moved one point orthogonally and confined within the palace.

Usage notes

When used as a title, it is always capitalized, as in “General John Doe”.

Hyponyms

(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

Coordinate terms

  • (insurance industry): health, life, pensions

Translations

See also

Verb

general (third-person singular simple present generals, present participle generalling or generaling, simple past and past participle generalled or generaled)

  1. To lead (soldiers) as a general.

Adverb

general (not comparable)

  1. (obsolete) In a general or collective manner or sense; in most cases; upon the whole.

Derived terms

Anagrams

  • enlarge, gleaner, reangle

Azerbaijani

Alternative forms

  • yaranal (archaic)

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin generālis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ɟeneˈrɑɫ]
  • Hyphenation: ge‧ne‧ral

Noun

general (definite accusative generalı, plural generallar)

  1. general

Declension

Further reading

  • “general” in Obastan.com.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin generālis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): (Central, Balearic) [ʒə.nəˈɾal]
  • IPA(key): (Valencia) [d͡ʒe.neˈɾal]

Adjective

general m or f (masculine and feminine plural generals)

  1. general

Noun

general m (plural generals, feminine generala)

  1. (military) general

Derived terms

Further reading

  • “general” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
  • “general”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
  • “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.

Danish

Noun

general c (singular definite generalen, plural indefinite generaler)

  1. general

Inflection

Ladin

Adjective

general m (feminine singular generala, masculine plural generai, feminine plural generales)

  1. general

Middle English

Alternative forms

  • generall, generale

Etymology

From a mixture of Anglo-Norman general, Middle French general, and Latin generālis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dʒɛnəˈraːl/, /ˈdʒɛnəral/

Adjective

general

  1. universal, complete
  2. comprehensive, wide-ranging
  3. general, widely useable or applicable
  4. common, widely present

Derived terms

  • generally

Descendants

  • English: general
  • Scots: general
  • Yola: generale

References

  • “ǧenerāl, adj. & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-01.

Noun

general (plural generals)

  1. genus, class, group

References

  • “ǧenerāl, adj. & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-01.

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

general m (definite singular generalen, indefinite plural generaler, definite plural generalene)

  1. (military) a general

Derived terms

  • generalguvernør

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

general m (definite singular generalen, indefinite plural generalar, definite plural generalane)

  1. (military) a general

Derived terms

  • generalguvernør

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin generālis.

Noun

general oblique singular, m (oblique plural generaus or generax or generals, nominative singular generaus or generax or generals, nominative plural general)

  1. (military) general

Adjective

general m (oblique and nominative feminine singular generale)

  1. general (not limited in use or application; applicable to the whole or every member of a class or category)

Declension

Descendants

  • → English: general
  • French: général

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin generālis. Doublet of geral.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
  • Hyphenation: ge‧ne‧ral

Adjective

general m or f (plural generais)

  1. (military) general (said of the subcategory of armed forces officer with a rank above that of senior officer)
  2. (military) general (said of the military with this subcategory)
  3. (obsolete) general (including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole)

Noun

general m (plural generais)

  1. (military) general (highest rank in the category of Army and Air Force officers, whose insignia consists of four stars)
  2. (figuratively) chief, leader

Noun

general m or f by sense (plural generais)

  1. (military) general (officer holding that post)
  2. (military) general (designation common to military personnel holding the ranks of general, lieutenant general and major general)

Descendants

  • → Tetum: jenerál

Further reading

  • “general”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
  • “general”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French général, from Latin generālis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /d͡ʒe.neˈral/

Noun

general m (plural generali)

  1. general

Declension

Adjective

general m or n (feminine singular generală, masculine plural generali, feminine and neuter plural generale)

  1. general

Declension

Related terms

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from German General, from Latin generālis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡeněraːl/
  • Hyphenation: ge‧ne‧ral

Noun

genèrāl m (Cyrillic spelling генѐра̄л)

  1. (military) general

Declension

Slovene

Etymology

From German General, from Latin generālis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡɛnɛráːl/

Noun

generȃl m anim (female equivalent generȃlica or generȃlka)

  1. (military) general

Declension

Further reading

  • “general”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin generālis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /xeneˈɾal/ [xe.neˈɾal]
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: ge‧ne‧ral

Adjective

general m or f (masculine and feminine plural generales)

  1. general, overall

Derived terms

Noun

general m (plural generales, feminine general or generala, feminine plural generales or generalas)

  1. (military) general

Noun

general f (plural generales)

  1. (informal, in the plural) general elections

Derived terms

Descendants

  • → Cebuano: heneral
  • → Tagalog: heneral

Further reading

  • “general”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swedish

Etymology

From German General, from Old French general, from Latin generālis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /jɛn(ɛ)ˈrɑːl/

Noun

general c

  1. a general; a military title
  2. an Air Chief Marshal

Declension

Descendants

  • → Finnish: kenraali

References

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