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.

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.

3. generalnoun

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

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.

5. generalnoun

   Short for general anaesthetic or general anaesthetia.

6. generaladjective

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

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.

8. generaladjective

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

9. generaladjective

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

10. generaladjective

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

11. generaladjective

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

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

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. GENERALadjective

   Etymology: general, French; generalis, Latin.

   1. Comprehending many species or individuals; not special; not particular.

   To conclude from particulars to generals is a false way of arguing. Notes to Pope’s Odyssey.

   2. Lax in signification; not restrained to any special or particular import.

   Where the author speaks more strictly and particularly on any theme, it will explain the more loose and general expressions. Isaac Watts, Improvement of the Mind.

   3. Not restrained by narrow or distinctive limitations.

   A general idea is an idea in the mind, considered there as separated from time and place, and so capable to represent any particular being that is conformable to it. John Locke.

   4. Relating to a whole class or body of men, or a whole kind of any being.

   They, because some have been admitted without trial, make that fault general which is particular. John Whitgift.

   5. Publick; comprising the whole.

   Nor would we deign him burial of his men,
   ’Till he disburs’d, at Saint Colmeskill isle,
   Ten thousand dollars to our gen’ral use. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

   Nor sail’d they to express how much they prais’d,
   That for the general safety he despis’d
   His own. John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. ii.

   6. Not directed to any single object.

   If the same thing be peculiarly evil, that general aversion will be turned into a particular hatred against it. Thomas Sprat.

   7. Extensive, though not universal.8. Common; usual.

   I’ve been bold,
   For that I knew it the most general way. William Shakespeare, Timon.

   9. General is appended to several offices: as, Attorney General, Solicitor General, Vicar General.

2. Generalnoun

   1. The whole; the totality; the main, without insisting on particulars.

   That which makes an action fit to be commanded or forbidden, can be nothing else, in general, but its tendency to promote or hinder the attainment of some end. John Norris.

   In particulars our knowledge begins, and so spreads itself by degrees to generals. John Locke.

   I have considered John Milton’s Paradise Lost in the fable, the characters, the sentiments, and the language; and have shewn that he excels, in general, under each of these heads. Addison.

   2. The publick; the interest of the whole. Not in use.

   Neither my place, nor aught I heard of business,
   Hath raised me from my bed; nor doth the general
   Take hold on me; for my particular grief
   Ingluts and swallows other sorrows. William Shakespeare, Othello.

   3. The vulgar. Not in use.

   The play, I remember, pleased not the million; ’twas caviare to the general: but it was, as I received it, and others, whose judgment in such matters cried in the top of mine, an excellent play. William Shakespeare, Hamlet.

   4. [ General, Fr.]One that has the command over an army.

   A general is one that hath power to command an army. John Locke.

   The generals on the enemy’s side are inferior to several that once commanded the French armies. Joseph Addison, on the War.

   The war’s whole art each private soldier knows,
   And with a gen’ral ’s love of conquest glows. Addison.

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

2. Generaladjective

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

3. Generaladjective

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

4. Generaladjective

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

5. Generaladjective

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

6. Generaladjective

   as a whole; in gross; for the most part

7. Generaladjective

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

8. Generaladjective

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

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

10. Generaladjective

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

11. Generaladjective

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

12. Generaladjective

    the public; the people; the vulgar

13. 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

2. gleaner

3. al green

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. Donald Trump:

   You know who is in charge of it, honestly ? I am, i will say, we're dealing with, as you know, the general and the admiral. They're very much in charge. But I think probably, more than anything, I'm in charge. And I'm the one that gets blamed. And I get blamed anyways.

2. Cameron Sterling:

   I feel that people in general, no matter what the race is, should come together as one united family, i want everyone to protest the right way. Protest in peace. ... No violence, whatsoever.

3. David Tal:

   Food-related technology like 3D food printers, robot chefs and fully automated fast food restaurants represent experiments or proof of concepts, there’s still about five to10 years worth of testing, federal regulation approvals and general cost reductions in robotics involved before this tech goes mainstream.

4. Donald Trump:

   I have spoken to many generals here right at the White House. And many people thought, of the generals, they think he was maybe their favorite general. People were there protesting the taking down of the monument of Robert E. Lee. Everybody knows that.

5. New York:

   We are reviewing the attorney general's proposal.

Popularity rank by frequency of use