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generalization

generalization

1 5.5
Seeing the same pattern in many examples helps form a general rule
  • noun
  • /ˌdʒɛnərəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/
: generalización
  • Based on their own analysis of the data, students developed descriptive and explanatory generalizations about the world community.
  • make generalizations
  • form generalizations
  • develop generalizations

Yeah, going from a generalization to something very specialized.

Examples

  • I hoped that they would be able to form generalizations about their topics.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Teachers and researchers need to be able to develop tests that accurately measure understanding of generalization.

    Academic text (1997)
  • We now consider a generalization of the problem studied in the previous section.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Food security is a useful concept for generalization purposes and for the planning of relief.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Social studies scholars have made several attempts to explain the concept of generalization.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Therefore, students should be given repeated trials and provided with a variety of equations to promote generalization of skills.

    Academic text (2013)
  • The scientists reached a generalization about climate change after studying various data sets.

  • During the lesson, the teacher explained the concept of generalization to help students understand how to categorize information.

  • By examining multiple case studies, researchers were able to draw a generalization about consumer behavior trends.

Synonyms

abstraction
vsgeneralization
24 8.0

Making a simple idea from many details to show what is common

focuses on identifying common features across examples rather than ignoring details
conceptualization
vsgeneralization
  • Specialized
5 7.5

Forming a clear idea of something in your mind

focuses on forming concepts by identifying common features from examples
induction
vsgeneralization
  • Formal
4 6.8

A way of thinking that uses specific facts to form a general rule

forms concepts by identifying shared features across examples
inductive reasoning
vsgeneralization
  • Specialized
2 6.2

To form a general idea from many small facts

forms general concepts by identifying common features across examples

Antonyms

18 7.0

The quality of being exact and detailed

Compounds

1 7.7

To react the same way to things that look or sound like what you learned

How General

abstraction
24 8.0
generalization
1 5.5
observation
  • Specialized
132 3.2

Surface Forms

Morphology

generalization = generalize (transparent) = general + ize + ation

Standard derivation from adjective to verb ('general' -> 'generalize') and verb to noun ('-ation'); meaning is directly predictable.

Etymology

Generalization comes from the word general, which means 'kind' or 'type'. Making a generalization is taking several specific examples and finding a rule that fits the whole 'kind', so the origin explains why it creates a broad idea from details.