generalness

7.3

A lack of specific details that make meaning clear

noun
/ˈdʒɛnərlnəs/

: generalidad

The generalness of his comments made them hard to understand.

Examples

Because of the generalness of the guidelines, employees were unsure how to proceed.
The generalness of the report was criticized by the experts.
The generalness of the report made it difficult to understand the exact issues involved.
Her instructions were criticized for their generalness and lack of practical detail.
The generalness of his ideas made them easy to relate to for a wide audience.
In her presentation, she emphasized the generalness of the theme rather than going into specific details.
The novel's generalness allowed readers to find their own interpretations without being led by specific events.

Synonyms

vagueness

vsgeneralness

8 6.1

Lack of clear or exact meaning that makes things hard to understand

is about a broadly non specific sense rather than unclear wording

generality

vsgeneralness

3 6.3

A quality that makes something useful in many situations

is focused on lack of specific detail rather than broad applicability

nonspecificity

vsgeneralness

8.6

Lack of detail that makes something general and unclear

is about being broad without necessarily suggesting vagueness

Antonyms

specificity

12 7.0

The quality of being exact and detailed

particularity

3 7.2

Being clear and exact about one thing

How General

breadth

24 6.3

generalness

7.3

specificity

12 7.0

Surface Forms

generalness singular

generalnesses plural

Morphology

generalness = general (transparent) = general + ness

Formed by the adjective 'general' plus the nominalizing suffix '-ness', yielding the state of being general; meaning is directly predictable.

Etymology

Generalness comes from general, which originally meant 'of a whole group' rather than one part and is the same root as generate ('to make'). So generalness is the quality of being broad or not detailed, which is why a text with generalness does not give exact facts.