as in stereotypes
an idea or statement about all of the members of a group or all the instances of a situation
the generalization that children who like violent entertainment grow up to be violent criminals
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Recent Examples of generalizations
Apart from a few childhood friends, his wife, Rosemary Hobor, knew him the longest, but shares generalizations more than revealing anecdotes.
—
Peter Debruge, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025
Much of his attention that evening is focused on Alma’s star doctoral student Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), who responds to his playful taunting about why her generation is so guarded by pinpointing it to the moment his generation started making sweeping generalizations about them.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
Following an update last week, the chatbot began making broad generalizations about people with Jewish last names and perpetuating antisemitic stereotypes about Hollywood.
—Julia Shapero, The Hill, 10 July 2025
So first let’s get Tyler Herro back in the mix before any rash generalizations.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 11 Feb. 2025
On Sunday, Noem doubled down on false generalizations that Venezuelan TPS holders are in large part criminals from the notorious gang known as Tren de Aragua, or TDA.
—Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 2 Feb. 2025
But the overall picture resists simple generalizations.
—Aatish Bhatia, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2025
The American Kennel Club also reminded readers that these are generalizations, and that most dogs can be trained to live peacefully with cats.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025
When providing feedback to a manager, focus on specific observable behaviors and their impact instead of using generalizations or judgments.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
Peter Debruge, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025
Much of his attention that evening is focused on Alma’s star doctoral student Maggie (Ayo Edebiri), who responds to his playful taunting about why her generation is so guarded by pinpointing it to the moment his generation started making sweeping generalizations about them.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
Following an update last week, the chatbot began making broad generalizations about people with Jewish last names and perpetuating antisemitic stereotypes about Hollywood.
—Julia Shapero, The Hill, 10 July 2025
So first let’s get Tyler Herro back in the mix before any rash generalizations.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 11 Feb. 2025
On Sunday, Noem doubled down on false generalizations that Venezuelan TPS holders are in large part criminals from the notorious gang known as Tren de Aragua, or TDA.
—Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 2 Feb. 2025
But the overall picture resists simple generalizations.
—Aatish Bhatia, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2025
The American Kennel Club also reminded readers that these are generalizations, and that most dogs can be trained to live peacefully with cats.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025
When providing feedback to a manager, focus on specific observable behaviors and their impact instead of using generalizations or judgments.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for generalizations
Noun
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Tools like sentiment analysis and toxicity detection models often exhibit biases toward people with disabilities, perpetuating harmful stereotypes embedded in training data as shown by research from Penn State.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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In addition to breaking stereotypes around aging, the show also pushed boundaries with its sometimes risqué humor, which was considered daring for primetime in the 1980s.—
Ashley Hume , Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Harry's uncompromising, one sided view of notions like truth, lies and accountability may sound warning sirens about whether reconciliation is possible in the long-term.—
Jack Royston,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
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This was Maxwell’s (classical) theory for electromagnetism, putting the previously distinct notions of electricity and magnetism together into a unified footing.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Vibrant clarity, instant responsiveness, and unfettered mobility are the three fundamental concepts that characterize this experience rather than a list of elements.—
Matt Emma,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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In The Humane Interface, Raskin not only discusses concepts such as leaping and habitual command behaviors but means of quantitative assessment as well.—
Cameron Kaiser,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Generalizations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/generalizations. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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