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Glite Dictionary
🔎 To make broad statements 🦠 To spread widely 🌍 To make common 🤖 To apply to new cases
to generalize

to generalize

5 4.6
To change something so many people can understand and use it
  • verb
  • /ˈdʒɛnəraˌlaɪz/
  • US
translation icon : popularizar
  • The company decided to generalize its marketing strategy to attract more customers.

Examples

  • To reach a broader audience, the artist sought to generalize their work with more relatable themes.

  • More study is needed to determine the extent to which these findings generalize to other children from other settings.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Immediately, they are able to learn how to generalize the skills if appropriate generalization instruction is provided.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Individuals with learning disabilities can learn to generalize newly learned social skills strategies to naturally occurring situations.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Additionally, observations indicated that appropriate social interactions also generalized to other playground activities in which no intervention was implemented.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Self-management has several advantages as a means of facilitating generalized and independent responding for children with autism.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Teachers often aim to generalize the new concepts they teach to prepare students for real-world applications.

Synonyms

to spread
vsto generalize
750 1.6

To become known by many people

involves altering ideas to suit the general public for use
to propagate
vsto generalize
23 5.9

Spread ideas, news, or feelings to many people

focuses on making it popular by changing it for the public
to popularize
vsto generalize
  • US
21 4.2

To make an idea, activity, or subject known and liked by many people

adapts things to general tastes to create widespread everyday use
to democratize
vsto generalize
  • US
4 5.1

To make information or tools available to many people, not just experts

changes it to fit common tastes rather than only removing barriers
to universalize
vsto generalize
1 7.5

To make an idea or rule apply to people everywhere

limits action to making it popular for general public tastes
to vulgarize
vsto generalize
  • US
1 8.4

To make something simpler and less refined to appeal to many people

aims to adapt and popularize without necessarily lowering quality
to repopularize
vsto generalize
5.3

Make something popular again after it becomes less popular

recovers popularity by adapting it for current general tastes
to mediatize
vsto generalize
  • Literature
7.9

To make something well known by giving it a lot of media attention

uses adaptation for public taste rather than media-driven fame

Antonyms

to specialize
208 4.3

To focus on one area of work or study and become an expert

How Popular

to generalize
  • US
5 4.6
to publicize
94 4.0
to promote
252 3.5
to mention
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

generalize infinitive
generalized past
generalized past participle
generalizing present participle
generalizes third person singular

Morphology

generalize = general (semi-transparent) = general + ize

In this sense 'generalize' means 'make something suitable for a general audience' which extends 'make general' to a pragmatic sense of popularizing or simplifying, so the connection to 'general' is clear but includes additional pragmatic nuance.

Etymology

Generalize comes from the Latin root genus meaning 'kind' or 'type', and it is the source of general. So to generalize something in this sense is to make it 'for many people' or to change it so it becomes common use.