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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 7.7
To spread from one part of the body to the whole body
  • verb
  • /ˈdʒɛnəraˌlaɪz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : generalizarse
  • Can emotional processing account for generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder?
  • generalized anxiety
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder
  • generalized seizures

Examples

  • During his time in the emergency department, the patient experienced another generalized tonic-clonic seizure, which was witnessed by department staff.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Between one-fourth and one-half of sarcoidosis patients experience generalized lymphadenopathy, but splenomegaly is rare.

    Academic text (1998)

  • You could be suffering from generalized anxiety disorder.

    Sicko (2007)

  • The last thing that I see in people with generalized anxiety is a burdensome sense of responsibility.

    Blog text (33)

  • Six patients, all with cerebral malaria, had one or more generalized convulsions during their malaria infection.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Serious adverse reactions have been reported in adults treated with benznidazole, including generalized allergic dermopathy, peripheral neuropathy, and granulocytopenia.

    Academic text (1997)

  • An allergy consultation is recommended for immediate allergic symptoms, including generalized urticaria, respiratory symptoms, facial or lip swelling, or anaphylaxis.

    Academic text (1998)

  • In cases of severe infection, the bacteria can generalize, affecting the entire body rather than just a specific area.

  • The doctor explained that if the rash were to generalize, it could indicate a more serious underlying condition.

  • Patients with untreated diabetes may experience symptoms that generalize, impacting multiple systems in the body.

Synonyms

to spread
vsto generalize
750 1.6

To become known by many people

affect the whole body rather than staying in one part

Antonyms

to localize
  • US
23 4.8

To keep something within one area so it does not spread

How Widespread

spread
89 2.5
to generalize
  • Specialized
5 7.7
to localize
  • US
23 4.8

Surface Forms

generalize infinitive
generalized past
generalised past
generalizing present participle
generalising present participle
generalises third person singular

Morphology

generalize = general (transparent) = general + ize

The medical sense 'to become widespread' maps directly to 'make/become general', so the morphological relation is straightforward.

Etymology

Generalize comes from the Latin root genus meaning 'kind' or 'type', and general can mean 'affecting the whole' rather than one place. In medicine, when a disease generalizes it stops being local and spreads through the whole body.