Definitions for General
ˈdʒɛn ər əlGen·er·al

Princeton's WordNet(3.00 / 6 votes)Rate this definition:

1. general, full generalnoun

   a general officer of the highest rank

2. general, superior generalnoun

   the head of a religious order or congregation

3. generaladjective

   a fact about the whole (as opposed to particular)

   "he discussed the general but neglected the particular"

4. generaladjective

   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"

5. generaladjective

   not specialized or limited to one class of things

   "general studies"; "general knowledge"

6. generaladjective

   prevailing among and common to the general public

   "the general discontent"

7. generaladjective

   affecting the entire body

   "a general anesthetic"; "general symptoms"

8. generaladjective

   somewhat indefinite

   "bearing a general resemblance to the original"; "a general description of the merchandise"

9. cosmopolitan, ecumenical, oecumenical, general, universal, worldwide, world-wideverb

   of worldwide scope or applicability

   "an issue of cosmopolitan import"; "the shrewdest political and ecumenical comment of our time"- Christopher Morley; "universal experience"

10. generalverb

    command as a general

    "We are generaled by an incompetent!"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. generalnoun

   Commander of an army.

   Hannibal was one of the greatest generals of the ancient world.

   Etymology: From general, generall, general, and their source, generalis, from genus + -alis.

2. generalnoun

   A rank in the army and air force that is higher than colonel or brigadier, and is usually the highest rank group next to commander in chief, except in countries that use the rank of field marshal.

   Etymology: From general, generall, general, and their source, generalis, from genus + -alis.

3. generalnoun

   a commissioned rank in the British Army and Royal Marines, above lieutenant general and below field marshal.

   Etymology: From general, generall, general, and their source, generalis, from genus + -alis.

4. generalnoun

   a commissioned general officer in the United States Army, Marine Corps, or Air Force superior to a lieutenant general. A general is equal in rank or grade to a four star admiral. In the US Army, a general is junior to a general of the army. In the US Marine Corps, a general is the highest rank of commissioned officer. In the US Air Force, a general is junior to a general of the air force.

   Etymology: From general, generall, general, and their source, generalis, from genus + -alis.

5. generalnoun

   Short for general anaesthetic or general anaesthetia.

   Etymology: From general, generall, general, and their source, generalis, from genus + -alis.

6. generaladjective

   Including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole etc.; as opposed to specific or particular.

   Etymology: From general, generall, general, and their source, generalis, from genus + -alis.

7. generaladjective

   Applied to a person (as a postmodifier or a normal preceding adjective) to indicate supreme rank, in civil or military titles, and later in other terms; pre-eminent.

   Etymology: From general, generall, general, and their source, generalis, from genus + -alis.

8. generaladjective

   Prevalent or widespread among a given class or area; common, usual.

   Etymology: From general, generall, general, and their source, generalis, from genus + -alis.

9. generaladjective

   Not limited in use or application; applicable to the whole or every member of a class or category.

   Etymology: From general, generall, general, and their source, generalis, from genus + -alis.

10. generaladjective

    Giving or consisting of only the most important aspects of something, ignoring minor details; indefinite.

    Etymology: From general, generall, general, and their source, generalis, from genus + -alis.

11. generaladjective

    Not limited to a specific class; miscellaneous, concerned with all branches of a given subject or area.

    Etymology: From general, generall, general, and their source, generalis, from genus + -alis.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Generaladjective

   relating to a genus or kind; pertaining to a whole class or order; as, a general law of animal or vegetable economy

   Etymology: [F. gnral. See General., a.]

2. Generaladjective

   comprehending many species or individuals; not special or particular; including all particulars; as, a general inference or conclusion

   Etymology: [F. gnral. See General., a.]

3. Generaladjective

   not restrained or limited to a precise import; not specific; vague; indefinite; lax in signification; as, a loose and general expression

   Etymology: [F. gnral. See General., a.]

4. Generaladjective

   common to many, or the greatest number; widely spread; prevalent; extensive, though not universal; as, a general opinion; a general custom

   Etymology: [F. gnral. See General., a.]

5. Generaladjective

   having a relation to all; common to the whole; as, Adam, our general sire

   Etymology: [F. gnral. See General., a.]

6. Generaladjective

   as a whole; in gross; for the most part

   Etymology: [F. gnral. See General., a.]

7. Generaladjective

   usual; common, on most occasions; as, his general habit or method

   Etymology: [F. gnral. See General., a.]

8. Generaladjective

   the whole; the total; that which comprehends or relates to all, or the chief part; -- opposed to particular

   Etymology: [F. gnral. See General., a.]

9. Generaladjective

   one of the chief military officers of a government or country; the commander of an army, of a body of men not less than a brigade. In European armies, the highest military rank next below field marshal

   Etymology: [F. gnral. See General., a.]

10. Generaladjective

    the roll of the drum which calls the troops together; as, to beat the general

    Etymology: [F. gnral. See General., a.]

11. Generaladjective

    the chief of an order of monks, or of all the houses or congregations under the same rule

    Etymology: [F. gnral. See General., a.]

12. Generaladjective

    the public; the people; the vulgar

    Etymology: [F. gnral. See General., a.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. General

   A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given. The term "general" is used in two ways: as the generic title for all grades of general officer; and as a specific rank. Since the late twentieth century, the rank of general is usually the highest active rank of a military not at war.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. General

   jen′ėr-al, adj. relating to a genus or whole class: including many species: not special: not restricted: common: prevalent: public: loose: vague.—n. a class embracing many species: an officer who is head over a whole department: a military officer who commands a body of men not less than a brigade (often general officer): the chief commander of an army in service: (R.C. Church) the head of a religious order, responsible only to the Pope: (Shak.) the public, the vulgar.—n. General′ē, esp. in pl. Generalia, general principles.—adj. Generalī′sable.—n. Generalisā′tion.—v.t. Generalīse′, to include under a general term: to infer (the nature of a class) from one or a few instances.—v.i. to reason inductively.—n. General′ity.—advs. Gen′erally, Gen′eral (obs.), in a general or collective manner or sense: in most cases: upon the whole.—n. Gen′eralship, the position of a military commander: military tactics.—General Assembly (see Assembly); General Epistle, one addressed to the whole Church (same as Catholic Epistle); General practitioner, a physician who devotes himself to general practice rather than to special diseases; General principle, a principle to which there are no exceptions within its range of application; General servant, a servant whose duties are not special, but embrace domestic work of every kind.—In general, mostly, as a general rule. [O. Fr.,—L. generalis—genus.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. general

   The commander of an army: the military rank corresponding to the naval one of admiral. The title includes all officers above colonels, ascending with qualifying prefixes, as brigadier-general, major-general, lieutenant-general, to general, above which is nothing save the exceptional rank of field-marshal and of captain-general or commander-in-chief of the land forces of the United Kingdom.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. general

   A term for the roll of the drum which calls the troops together. To “beat the general” is a phrase drawn from the French drum instructors, “Battre la Generale.”

2. general

   The highest military title in the U. S. army, and the highest military title below that of field-marshal in European armies. A general ordinarily commands no body of men less than an army or corps d’armée.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. general

   Relating to a group of people as a whole.

   The general view was everyone loved carrots.

   Submitted by MaryC on December 21, 2019  

Matched Categories

1. • Command
   • Medicine

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'General' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #280

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'General' in Written Corpus Frequency: #537

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'General' in Nouns Frequency: #973

4. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'General' in Adjectives Frequency: #25

Anagrams for General »

1. enlarge, gleaner

2. Enlarge

3. Gleaner

How to pronounce General?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say General in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of General in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of General in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of General in a Sentence

1. Bob Menendez:

   The other thing to consider is that this case was brought by a different attorney general and a different Department of Justice, politics has no place in the justice process … however, it does factor into it.

2. Colin James:

   The message that we're sending is that it's not just about General Motors' workers. All the suppliers, including Lear Whitby, are impacted by a potential closure.

3. Julia Sass Rubin:

   These revelations speak to the general lack of transparency around the PARCC tests, the lack of an open, deliberative process, and the exclusion of parents and other community members from any decision-making, we need hearings on this immediately, to understand fully the level of spying on our children that is being done by Pearson and other corporations, and the level of coordination between Pearson and the NJDOE. We encourage the NJDOE to suspend the May testing round until those questions can be addressed.

4. Timothy Hagle:

   In general, the macroeconomic issue isn't going to be a winner for Democrats unless you get to the point where it's just a huge problem and affects pretty much everybody, right now they need to stick to the personal kinds of things.

5. Barronelle Stutzman:

   But when he came in to talk to me about his wedding, I just simply put my hands on his and told him I could not do it because my relationship with Jesus Christ, without any complaint Rob or [his partner], the attorney general of Washington sued me personally and corporately simply because I have a different viewpoint on marriage.

Popularity rank by frequency of use