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General - 10 dictionary results
gen⋅er⋅al
[jen-er-uh
l] 
–adjective
| 1. | of or pertaining to all persons or things belonging to a group or category: a general meeting of the employees. |
| 2. | of, pertaining to, or true of such persons or things in the main, with possible exceptions; common to most; prevalent; usual: the general mood of the people. |
| 3. | not limited to one class, field, product, service, etc.; miscellaneous: the general public; general science. |
| 4. | considering or dealing with overall characteristics, universal aspects, or important elements, esp. without considering all details or specific aspects: general instructions; a general description; a general resemblance one to another. |
| 5. | not specific or definite: I could give them only a general idea of what was going on. |
| 6. | (of anesthesia or an anesthetic) causing loss of consciousness and abolishing sensitivity to pain throughout the body. |
| 7. | having extended command or superior or chief rank: the secretary general of the United Nations; the attorney general. |
–noun
—Idiom| 8. | Military.
|
| 9. | Ecclesiastical. the chief official of a religious order. |
| 10. | something that is general; generality. |
| 11. | Archaic. the general public. |
| 12. | in general,
|
Related forms:
gen⋅er⋅al⋅ness, noun
Synonyms:
1, 2. customary, prevailing, regular, ordinary; catholic. General, common, popular, universal agree in the idea of being nonexclusive and widespread. General means belonging to, or prevailing throughout, a whole class or body collectively, irrespective of individuals: a general belief. Common means shared by all, and belonging to one as much as another: a common interest; common fund; but use of this sense is frequently avoided because of ambiguity of sense. Popular means belonging to, adapted for, or favored by the people or the public generally, rather than by a particular (esp. a superior) class: the popular conception; a popular candidate. Universal means found everywhere, and with no exceptions: a universal longing. 5. ill-defined, inexact, imprecise, approximate.
1, 2. customary, prevailing, regular, ordinary; catholic. General, common, popular, universal agree in the idea of being nonexclusive and widespread. General means belonging to, or prevailing throughout, a whole class or body collectively, irrespective of individuals: a general belief. Common means shared by all, and belonging to one as much as another: a common interest; common fund; but use of this sense is frequently avoided because of ambiguity of sense. Popular means belonging to, adapted for, or favored by the people or the public generally, rather than by a particular (esp. a superior) class: the popular conception; a popular candidate. Universal means found everywhere, and with no exceptions: a universal longing. 5. ill-defined, inexact, imprecise, approximate.
Antonyms:
1. special, limited. 5. definite, exact, precise.
1. special, limited. 5. definite, exact, precise.
Tom Thumb
–noun
| 1. | a diminutive hero of folk tales. |
| 2. | an extremely small person; dwarf. |
| 3. | General, nickname of Charles Sherwood Stratton. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To General
| gen·er·al (jěn'ər-əl) adj.
[Middle English, from Latin generālis, from genus, gener-, kind; see genə- in Indo-European roots.] gen'er·al·ness n. Synonyms: These adjectives mean belonging to, relating to, or affecting the whole: the general welfare; a common enemy; generic likenesses; universal military conscription. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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General
Gen"er*al\, a. [F. g['e]n['e]ral, fr. L. generalis. See Genus.]1. Relating to a genus or kind; pertaining to a whole class or order; as, a general law of animal or vegetable economy. 2. Comprehending many species or individuals; not special or particular; including all particulars; as, a general inference or conclusion. 3. Not restrained or limited to a precise import; not specific; vague; indefinite; lax in signification; as, a loose and general expression. 4. Common to many, or the greatest number; widely spread; prevalent; extensive, though not universal; as, a general opinion; a general custom. This general applause and cheerful shout Argue your wisdom and your love to Richard. --Shak. 5. Having a relation to all; common to the whole; as, Adam, our general sire. --Milton. 6. As a whole; in gross; for the most part. His general behavior vain, ridiculous. --Shak. 7. Usual; common, on most occasions; as, his general habit or method. Note: The word general, annexed to a name of office, usually denotes chief or superior; as, attorney-general; adjutant general; commissary general; quartermaster general; vicar-general, etc. General agent (Law), an agent whom a principal employs to transact all his business of a particular kind, or to act in his affairs generally. General assembly. See the Note under Assembly. General average, General Court. See under Average, Court. General court-martial (Mil.), the highest military and naval judicial tribunal. General dealer (Com.), a shopkeeper who deals in all articles in common use. General demurrer (Law), a demurrer which objects to a pleading in general terms, as insufficient, without specifying the defects. --Abbott. General epistle, a canonical epistle. General guides (Mil.), two sergeants (called the right, and the left, general guide) posted opposite the right and left flanks of an infantry battalion, to preserve accuracy in marching. --Farrow. General hospitals (Mil.), hospitals established to receive sick and wounded sent from the field hospitals. --Farrow. General issue (Law), an issue made by a general plea, which traverses the whole declaration or indictment at once, without offering any special matter to evade it. --Bouvier. --Burrill. General lien (Law), a right to detain a chattel, etc., until payment is made of any balance due on a general account. General officer (Mil.), any officer having a rank above that of colonel. General orders (Mil.), orders from headquarters published to the whole command. General practitioner, in the United States, one who practices medicine in all its branches without confining himself to any specialty; in England, one who practices both as physician and as surgeon. General ship, a ship not chartered or let to particular parties. General term (Logic), a term which is the sign of a general conception or notion. General verdict (Law), the ordinary comprehensive verdict in civil actions, "for the plaintiff" or "for the defendant". --Burrill. General warrant (Law), a warrant, now illegal, to apprehend suspected persons, without naming individuals. Syn: Syn. General, Common, Universal. Usage: Common denotes primarily that in which many share; and hence, that which is often met with. General is stronger, denoting that which pertains to a majority of the individuals which compose a genus, or whole. Universal, that which pertains to all without exception. To be able to read and write is so common an attainment in the United States, that we may pronounce it general, though by no means universal.General
Gen"er*al\, n. [F. g['e]n['e]ral. See General., a.]1. The whole; the total; that which comprehends or relates to all, or the chief part; -- opposed to particular. In particulars our knowledge begins, and so spreads itself by degrees to generals. --Locke. 2. (Mil.) 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. Note: In the United States the office of General of the Army has been created by temporary laws, and has been held only by Generals U. S. Grant, W. T. Sherman, and P. H. Sheridan. Popularly, the title General is given to various general officers, as General, Lieutenant general, Major general, Brigadier general, Commissary general, etc. See Brigadier general, Lieutenant general, Major general, in the Vocabulary. 3. (Mil.) The roll of the drum which calls the troops together; as, to beat the general. 4. (Eccl.) The chief of an order of monks, or of all the houses or congregations under the same rule. 5. The public; the people; the vulgar. [Obs.] --Shak. In general, in the main; for the most part.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : General
Spanish:
general,
German:
allgemein,
Japanese:
全般的な
general (adj.)
c.1300 (implied in generally), from L. generalis "relating to all, of a whole class" (contrasted with specialis), from genus (gen. generis) "stock, kind" (see genus). Noun sense of "commander of an army" is 1576 shortening of captain general, from M.Fr. capitaine général. The title generalissimo (1621) is from It., superlative of generale, from a sense development similar to the Fr.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: gen·er·al
Pronunciation: 'jen-r&l, 'je-n&-
Function: adjective
1 : involving, applicable to, or affecting the whole
2 : involving, relating to, or applicable to every member of a class, kind, or group
3 : not confined by specialization or limitation
4 : relating to, determined by, or concerned with main elements rather than limiting details general resemblance>
5 : holding superior rank or taking precedence over others similarly titled
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Main Entry: gen·er·al
Pronunciation: 'jen-(&-)r&l
Function: adjective
1 : not confined by specialization or careful limitationgeneral surgeon>
2 : belonging to the common nature of a group of like individuals
3 : involving or affecting practically the entire organism : not local <general nervousness>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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general
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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general
title and rank of a senior army officer, usually one who commands units larger than a regiment or its equivalent or units consisting of more than one arm of the service. Frequently, however, a general is a staff officer who does not command troops but who plans their operations in the field. General, lieutenant general, and major general are the first, second, and third grades of general officers in many armies. The United States Army, Air Force, and Marines have a fourth general officer grade, brigadier general (brigadier in the British Army). The highest U.S. Army rank, five-star general of the army, was created in 1944 and was conferred upon Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, and George C. Marshall in that year and upon Omar N. Bradley in 1950. The four-star rank of general of the army of the United States was established for Ulysses S. Grant in 1866 and was bestowed later upon William T. Sherman and Philip Sheridan; the unique four-star rank of general of the armies of the United States, created in 1799 for George Washington but never held by him, was conferred upon John J. Pershing in 1919.
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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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