general

(redirected from Generals)
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia.

gen·er·al

(jĕn′ər-əl)

adj.

1. Concerned with, applicable to, or affecting the whole or every member of a class or category: "subduing all her impressions as a woman, to something more general" (Virginia Woolf).

2. Affecting or characteristic of the majority of those involved; prevalent: general discontent.

3. Of or affecting the entire body: general paralysis.

4. Being usually the case; true or applicable in most instances but not all: the general correctness of her decisions.

a. Not limited in scope, area, or application: as a general rule.

b. Not limited to or dealing with one class of things; diversified: general studies.

6. Involving only the main features rather than precise details: a general grasp of the subject.

7. Highest or superior in rank: the general manager.

a. A commissioned rank in the US Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps that is above lieutenant general.

b. One who holds this rank or a similar rank in another military organization.

2. A general officer.

3. A statement, principle, or fact that embraces or is applicable to the whole.

4. General anesthesia.

5. Archaic The public.

Idiom:

in general

Generally.

[Middle English, from Latin generālis, from genus, gener-, kind; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]

gen′er·al·ness n.

Synonyms: general, common, universal
These adjectives mean belonging to, relating to, or affecting the whole: the general welfare; a common enemy; universal military conscription.

Antonym: particular

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

general

(ˈdʒɛnərəl; ˈdʒɛnrəl)

adj

1. common; widespread: a general feeling of horror at the crime.

2. of, including, applying to, or participated in by all or most of the members of a group, category, or community

3. relating to various branches of an activity, profession, etc; not specialized: general office work.

4. including various or miscellaneous items: general knowledge; a general store.

5. not specific as to detail; overall: a general description of the merchandise.

6. not definite; vague: give me a general idea of when you will finish.

7. applicable or true in most cases; usual

8. (prenominal or immediately postpositive) having superior or extended authority or rank: general manager; consul general.

9. (Education) Also: pass designating a degree awarded at some universities, studied at a lower academic standard than an honours degree. See honours²

10. (Medicine) med relating to or involving the entire body or many of its parts; systemic

11. (Logic) logic (of a statement) not specifying an individual subject but quantifying over a domain

12. (Military) an officer of a rank senior to lieutenant general, esp one who commands a large military formation

13. any person acting as a leader and applying strategy or tactics

14. a general condition or principle: opposed to particular

15. (Ecclesiastical Terms) a title for the head of a religious order, congregation, etc

16. (Medicine) med short for general anaesthetic

17. archaic the people; public

18. in general generally; mostly or usually

[C13: from Latin generālis of a particular kind, from genus kind]

ˈgeneralness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

gen•er•al

(ˈdʒɛn ər əl)

adj.

1. of, pertaining to, or affecting all persons or things belonging to a group, category, or system: a general meeting of members; a general amnesty.

2. of, pertaining to, or true of such persons or things in the main; common to most; usual: the general mood of the people.

3. not limited to one class, field, product, service, etc.; miscellaneous: the general public.

4. considering or dealing with broad or important aspects, elements, etc.; not detailed: general guidelines; a general description.

5. not specific; approximate: a general idea of what was going on.

6. affecting the entire body: general paralysis.

7. (of anesthesia or an anesthetic) causing loss of consciousness and abolishing sensitivity to pain throughout the body.

8. having extended command or superior or chief rank: the secretary general of the U.N.

a. an army or air force officer ranking above a lieutenant general and below a general of the army or general of the air force.

b. an army officer of any of the five highest ranks: brigadier general, major general, lieutenant general, general, or general of the army.

c. an officer holding the highest rank in the U.S. Marine Corps.

10. the chief official of a religious order.

11. something that is general; generality.

12. Archaic. the general public.

Idioms:

in general,

a. with respect to the entirety; as a whole: to like people in general.

b. as a rule; usually: In general, the bus is on time.

[1250–1300; < Latin generālis=gener-, s. of genus genus + -ālis -al¹]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	general - a general officer of the highest rank full general armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker" general officer - officers in the Army or Air Force or Marines above the rank of colonel Blucher, G. L. von Blucher, Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher, von Blucher - Prussian general who is remembered for his leadership in the wars against Napoleon (1742-1819)
	2.	general - the head of a religious order or congregation superior general chief, top dog, head - a person who is in charge; "the head of the whole operation"
	3.	general - a fact about the whole (as opposed to particular); "he discussed the general but neglected the particular" fact - a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred; "first you must collect all the facts of the case" particular, specific - a fact about some part (as opposed to general); "he always reasons from the particular to the general" particular, specific - a fact about some part (as opposed to general); "he always reasons from the particular to the general"
Verb	1.	general - command as a general; "We are generaled by an incompetent!" command - be in command of; "The general commanded a huge army"
Adj.	1.	general - applying to all or most members of a category or group; "the general public"; "general assistance"; "a general rule"; "in general terms"; "comprehensible to the general reader" comprehensive - including all or everything; "comprehensive coverage"; "a comprehensive history of the revolution"; "a comprehensive survey"; "a comprehensive education" indiscriminate - not marked by fine distinctions; "indiscriminate reading habits"; "an indiscriminate mixture of colors and styles" imprecise - not precise; "imprecise astronomical observations"; "the terms he used were imprecise and emotional" unspecialised, unspecialized - not specialized or modified for a particular purpose or function specific - (sometimes followed by `to') applying to or characterized by or distinguishing something particular or special or unique; "rules with specific application"; "demands specific to the job"; "a specific and detailed account of the accident"
	2.	general - not specialized or limited to one class of things; "general studies"; "general knowledge" undiversified - not diversified
	3.	general - prevailing among and common to the general public; "the general discontent" common - having no special distinction or quality; widely known or commonly encountered; average or ordinary or usual; "the common man"; "a common sailor"; "the common cold"; "a common nuisance"; "followed common procedure"; "it is common knowledge that she lives alone"; "the common housefly"; "a common brand of soap"
	4.	general - affecting the entire body; "a general anesthetic"; "general symptoms" medical specialty, medicine - the branches of medical science that deal with nonsurgical techniques local - affecting only a restricted part or area of the body; "local anesthesia"
	5.	general - somewhat indefinite; "bearing a general resemblance to the original"; "a general description of the merchandise" imprecise - not precise; "imprecise astronomical observations"; "the terms he used were imprecise and emotional"
	6.	general - of worldwide scope or applicability; "an issue of cosmopolitan import"; "the shrewdest political and ecumenical comment of our time"- Christopher Morley; "universal experience" universal, ecumenical, oecumenical, worldwide, world-wide, cosmopolitan comprehensive - including all or everything; "comprehensive coverage"; "a comprehensive history of the revolution"; "a comprehensive survey"; "a comprehensive education"

general

adjective

1. widespread, accepted, popular, public, common, broad, extensive, universal, prevailing, prevalent Contrary to general opinion, Wiccans are not devil-worshippers.
widespread private, individual, personal

2. overall, complete, total, global, comprehensive, blanket, inclusive, all-embracing, overarching His firm took over general maintenance of the park last summer.
overall limited, restricted, partial, demarcated

3. universal, overall, widespread, collective, across-the-board, all-inclusive The figures represent a general decline in unemployment.
universal special, unusual, extraordinary, distinctive, exceptional, peculiar

4. vague, broad, loose, blanket, sweeping, unclear, inaccurate, approximate, woolly, indefinite, hazy, imprecise, ill-defined, inexact, unspecific, undetailed chemicals called by the general description `flavour enhancer'
vague particular, specific, exact, precise, definite

5. ordinary, regular, usual, typical, conventional, everyday, customary This book is intended for the general reader rather than the student.
ordinary special, extraordinary, exceptional

in general

6. as a whole, generally, overall, altogether, across the board We need to improve our education system in general.

7. on the whole, largely, chiefly, mainly, mostly, principally, predominantly, in the main, for the most part In general, it was the better educated voters who voted Yes in the referendum.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

general

adjective

1. Belonging or relating to the whole:

common, generic, universal.

2. Belonging to, shared by, or applicable to all alike:

common, communal, conjoint, joint, mutual, public.

3. Of, representing, or carried on by people at large:

democratic, popular, public.

4. Commonly encountered:

average, common, commonplace, normal, ordinary, typical, usual.

5. Covering a wide scope:

all-around, all-inclusive, all-round, broad, broad-spectrum, comprehensive, expansive, extended, extensive, far-ranging, far-reaching, global, inclusive, large, overall, sweeping, wide-ranging, wide-reaching, widespread.

6. Not limited to a single class:

diversified.

Translations

رئيس، رئيسي، عامعامعام، غير تفصيليعَامّعُمومي

generálobecnývšeobecnýgenerálnícelkový

generalgenerelalmindeliggeneral-

allgemein General General-...generell

γενικός στρατηγός

generalo

generalgénéralcomún

üldine

kenraaliyleinenyleis-

général généralité

općisveobuhvatansveopćigeneralnačelan

tábornokáltalánosgenerálisnem specializált

almennurherforingiyfir-, aîal-

generale generico in generale

一般の将軍

일반적인장군

apibendrinimasapibendrintibendrosios praktikos gydytojasdaugiausiageneralinis

galvenaisģenerāl-ģenerālisparastsvadošais

algemeen generaal

general generell generelt helhets-allmenn

generał ogólny

geral general

генерал общий

generálgenerálny

generalsplošen

allmängeneral

โดยทั่วไปนายพล

genel general kıdemli şef

chungtướng

…长一般的大体的将军总的

general

[ˈdʒenərəl]

A. ADJ

1. (= overall) [appearance, decline, attitude] → general
the general standard of education is very high → el nivel general de educación es muy alto

2. (= widespread) [view, interest] → general
there was general agreement on this question → hubo un consenso general con respecto a esta cuestión
contrary to general belief → contrariamente a or en contra de lo que comúnmente se cree
there was general opposition to the proposal → la oposición a la propuesta fue general or generalizada
for general use → para el uso general
in general use → de uso general

3. (= vague, non-specific) → general
beware of making statements which are too general → ten cuidado de hacer afirmaciones que sean demasiado generales
the report was too general → el informe era poco específico
try to be more general → intenta no entrar tanto en detalles
we drove in the general direction of Aberdeen → fuimos conduciendo en dirección aproximada a Aberdeen
please direct any general enquiries you may have to my secretary → le ruego solicite a mi secretaria cualquier información de carácter general
I've got the general idea → tengo más o menos una idea
I'm beginning to get the general picture → estoy empezando a hacerme una idea
a general term → un término genérico
in general terms → en líneas or términos generales

4. (= usual)
as a general rule → por regla general

5. (= not specialized) [reader, public] → no especializado
we employ two general labourers → empleamos a dos obreros no especializados
an introduction to psychology for the general reader → una introducción a la psicología para el lector no especializado

6. (at end of title) → general
secretary general → secretario/a m/f general

B. N

1.
in general → en general
we discussed work in general → hablamos sobre el trabajo en general
in general this kind of situation can be controlled (= normally) → en general or por lo general este tipo de situaciones pueden controlarse

2. the particular and the general → lo particular y lo general

3. (Mil) (= officer) → general mf
General Croft arrived late → el general Croft llegó tarde
good morning, General Croft → buenos días, General Croft

C. CPD general anaesthetic, general anesthetic (US) N → anestesia f general
general assembly N → asamblea f general
general audit N → auditoría f general
general cargo N → cargamento m mixto
General Certificate of Secondary Education N (Brit) (Educ) GCSE the General Confession N (Church of England) → la oración de confesión colectiva
general costs NPL → gastos mpl generales
general dealer N (US) → tienda f, almacén m (S. Cone)
general delivery N (US, Canada) → lista f de correos
general election N → elecciones fpl or comicios mpl generales
general headquarters N (Mil) → cuartel msing general
general holiday N → día m festivo
general hospital N → hospital m
general knowledge N → cultura f general
general manager N → director(a) m/f general
general medicine N → medicina f general
general meeting N → asamblea f general
General Officer Commanding N (Mil) → Comandante mf en Jefe
general partnership N (Jur) → sociedad f regular colectiva
General Post Office N (Brit) (Govt) (formerly) → Correos m; (= main post office) → oficina f de correos
general practice N (Brit) (Med) (= work) → medicina f general; (= group) → consultorio m médico
I am currently working in general practice → actualmente estoy trabajando como médico de medicina general
to go into general practice → entrar a trabajar en medicina general
general practitioner N → médico/a m/f de medicina general (frm), médico/a m/f de cabecera
the general public N → el público en general, el gran público
general science N (Scol) → Ciencias fpl
general science teacher N → profesor(a) m/f de Ciencias
General Secretary N → Secretario(a) m/f General
general staff N → estado m mayor (general)
general store N (US) → tienda f, almacén m (S. Cone)
general strike N → huelga f general

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

general

[ˈdʒɛn^ərəl]

in general → en général

(in army) → général m
the rank of general → le grade de général

adj

(= overall) → général(e)
the general situation in Europe → la situation générale en Europe
the planting and general maintenance of the park → la plantation et l'entretien général du parc
There has been a general decline in giving to charities → Il y a eu une baisse générale des dons faits aux associations caritatives.
I had a general sense of well-being
BUT J'avais un sentiment diffus de bien-être.

[standard, performance] → global(e)
the general standard of education in Britain → le niveau global de l'instruction en Grande-Bretagne

(= felt by most people) [interest] → général(e); [awareness] → du public; [feeling] → général(e)
general agreement → consensus m

as a general rule → en règle générale

in general terms → d'une manière générale general audit, general expensesgeneral anaesthesia n → anesthésie f généralegeneral anaesthetic n → anesthésie f générale
to have a general anaesthetic → recevoir une anesthésie généralegeneral audit n → vérification f annuelleGeneral Certificate of Education n (British) examen passé à 18 ans → baccalauréat mGeneral Certificate of Secondary Education n (British) examen passé à 16 ans → brevet m des collègesgeneral delivery n (US, Canadian) → poste f restantegeneral election n → élections fpl législativesgeneral expenses npl → frais mpl générauxgeneral hospital n → centre m hospitalier

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

general

adj → allgemein; to be general (= not detailed or specific: wording, proposals) → allgemein gehalten sein; (= vague) → unbestimmt or vage sein; (promises, clause) → unverbindlich sein; (= widespread: custom, weather etc) → weitverbreitet sein; his general appearance → sein Aussehen im Allgemeinen; this is not the general view → diese Ansicht wird nicht allgemein geteilt; there was general agreement among the two groups → die beiden Gruppen waren sich grundsätzlich einig; it met with general approval → es wurde allgemein gebilligt; the general attitude toward(s) the war is optimistic → es herrscht allgemein eine optimistische Einstellung zum Krieg; to be in general use → allgemein verbreitet sein; fortune tellers are so general in their statements → Wahrsager halten ihre Aussagen so allgemein; the general plan or idea is that … → wir hatten uns/sie hatten sich (dat) → etc das so gedacht, dass …; the general idea of that is to … → damit soll bezweckt werden, dass …, es geht dabei darum, dass …; that was the general idea → so war das gedacht; the general idea is to wait and see → wir/sie etc wollen einfach mal abwarten; I’ve got the general idea (of it) → ich habe eine Vorstellung or ich weiß so ungefähr, worum es geht; to give somebody a general idea of a subject → jdm eine ungefähre Vorstellung von einem Thema geben; in general terms, in a general sense → generell; she recounted in very general terms the events of recent months → sie berichtete in groben Zügen von den Ereignissen der letzten Monate; I spoke in a general way → ich habe ganz allgemein gesprochen; in the general direction of the village → ungefähr in Richtung des Dorfes; my general advice would be to leave them alone → grundsätzlich würde ich Ihnen raten, sie in Ruhe zu lassen; as a general rule → im Allgemeinen; a general ache → ein unbestimmter Schmerz; general labourer → ungelernter Arbeiter, ungelernte Arbeiterin; general drudge → Mädchen nt → für alles; general reader → Durchschnittsleser(in) m(f)

in general → im Allgemeinen; to go from the general to the particular → vom Allgemeinen ins Besondere gehen

(Mil) → General(in) m(f)

general

general anaesthetic, (US) general anesthetic

n → Vollnarkose f

General Assembly

n (of United Nations) → Voll- or Generalversammlung f; (Eccl) → Generalsynode f

General Certificate of Education

n (Brit) (= O level) → ˜ mittlere Reife; (= A level) → ˜ Reifezeugnis nt, → ˜ Abitur nt

General Certificate of Secondary Education

n (Brit) → Abschluss m → der Sekundarstufe, ˜ mittlere Reife

general confession

n the general (Rel) → das allgemeine Sündenbekenntnis

general dealer

n (US) = general store

general degree

n nicht spezialisierter Studienabschluss

general delivery

adv (US, Canada Post: = poste restante) → postlagernd

general election

n → Parlamentswahlen pl

general factotum

n → Mädchen nt → für alles

general headquarters

n sing or pl (Mil) → Generalkommando nt

general holiday

n → Feiertag m → (für alle)

general hospital

n → Allgemeinkrankenhaus nt

general

general knowledge

n → Allgemeinwissen nt → or -bildung f

attr → zur Allgemeinbildung

general linguistics

n sing → allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft

general

general manager

n → Hauptgeschäftsführer(in) m(f)

general medicine

n → Allgemeinmedizin f

general meeting

n → Generalversammlung f, → Vollversammlung f; (of shareholders etc) → Hauptversammlung f

General Officer Commanding

n (Mil) → Oberbefehlshaber(in) m(f)

general pardon

n → Generalamnestie f

general partnership

n (Jur) → offene Handelsgesellschaft

General Post Office

n (Brit: = building) → Hauptpost (→ amt nt) f; (dated, = organization) → Post f

general practice

n (Brit Med)

(= work) → Allgemeinmedizin f; to be in general → praktischer Arzt/praktische Ärztin sein

(= place) → allgemeinärztliche Praxis, Allgemeinpraxis f

general practitioner

n → Arzt m → /Ärztin f → für Allgemeinmedizin, praktischer Arzt, praktische Ärztin

general public

n → Öffentlichkeit f, → Allgemeinheit f

general-purpose

adj → Universal-; general cleaner → Universalreiniger m

general science

n (Sch) → Naturwissenschaft f; general teacher → Naturwissenschaftslehrer(in) m(f)

General Secretary

n → Generalsekretär(in) m(f)

general

general staff

n (Mil) → Generalstab m

general store

n → Gemischtwarenhandlung f

general strike

n → Generalstreik m

General Studies

pl (Brit Sch) Kurs zur Vermittlung von Allgemeinwissen an spezialisierte Schüler

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

general

[ˈdʒɛn/ər/əl]

1. adj (gen) → generale; (not detailed, plan, view) → generale, complessivo/a; (enquiry) → generico/a; (not specialized, trader, store) → di generi vari
in general use → d'uso comune or corrente
in general terms → in termini generici, in generale
as a general rule → di norma, di regola
the general idea is to ... → l'idea base sarebbe di...

2. adv in general (usually) → generalmente; (as a whole) → nel complesso

3. n (Mil) → generale m

general

(ˈdʒenərəl) adjective

1. of, involving etc all, most or very many people, things etc. The general feeling is that he is stupid; His general knowledge is good although he is not good at mathematics.

2. covering a large number of cases. a general rule.

3. without details. I'll just give you a general idea of the plan.

4. (as part of an official title) chief. the Postmaster General.

noun

in the British army, (a person of) the rank next below field marshal. General Smith.

ˈgeneralize, ˈgeneralise verb

1. to make a general rule etc that can be applied to many cases, based on a number of cases. He's trying to generalize from only two examples.

2. to talk (about something) in general terms. We should stop generalizing and discuss each problem separately.

ˌgeneraliˈzation, ˌgeneraliˈsation noun

ˈgenerally adverb

usually; by most people; on the whole. He is generally disliked; He generally wins.

General Certificate of EducationGCEgeneral election

an election in which the voters in every constituency are involved.

general practitionerGPgeneral store

a shop that sells a wide range of goods.

as a general rule

usually; in most cases. As a general rule, we don't employ unskilled workers.

in general

usually; in most cases; most of (a group of people etc). People in general were not very sympathetic; People were in general not very sympathetic.

the general public

the people of a town, country etc, considered as a group.

general

→ عَامّ, لِوَاء generál, všeobecný general, generel allgemein, General γενικός, στρατηγός general kenraali, yleinen général general, opći generale 一般の, 将軍 일반적인, 장군 algemeen, generaal general, generelt generał, ogólny general, geral генерал, общий allmän, general โดยทั่วไป, นายพล genel chung, tướng 将军, 普通的

general

a. general;

___ appearance → aspecto___;

___ condition → estado ___;

___ practitioners → médicos de familia;

___ treatment → tratamiento___.

general

adj general; in — por lo general

References in classic literature ?

They had a suspicion that she betrayed the military plans of the English to the generals of the French armies."

View in context

The generals were passing by, looking as if they wished to avoid embarrassing attentions.

View in context

Mrs General was the daughter of a clerical dignitary in a cathedral town, where she had led the fashion until she was as near forty- five as a single lady can be.

View in context

"Yes, I came hither to converse confidentially with General Monk, and ask him for an answer regarding certain interests; yes, the general being, doubtless, unable to pronounce before the expected battle, begged me to remain a week in the house I inhabit, promising me that in a week I should see him again.

View in context

"I am going to see that young man's General," Thomson replied.

View in context

"`The undersigned Louis Jacques Beaurepaire, lieutenant-colonel of artillery, Etienne Duchampy, general of brigade, and Claude Lecharpal, keeper of woods and forests, Declare, that on the 4th of February, a letter arrived from the Island of Elba, recommending to the kindness and the confidence of the Bonapartist Club, General Flavien de Quesnel, who having served the emperor from 1804 to 1814 was supposed to be devoted to the interests of the Napoleon dynasty, notwithstanding the title of baron which Louis XVIII.

View in context

The general interrupted once more with questions; while the prince again replied with the narrative we have heard before.

View in context

"I command the Army of Revolt in this war," answered the General, with unnecessary sharpness.

View in context

Go away--and send General Blug here," screamed the Nome King.

View in context

An hour passed away before the general came in, spent, on the part of his young guest, in no very favourable consideration of his character.

View in context

The General eyed me coldly, greeted me in rather haughty fashion, and dismissed me to pay my respects to his sister.

View in context

In this case we find again, as we found when we were discussing words in general in the preceding lecture, that images are not logically necessary in order to account for observable behaviour, i.e.