general

Adj

1. Including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole, etc.; common to all, universal.
2. (postpositional, sometimes) 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.
3. Prevalent or widespread among a given class or area; common, usual.
4. Not limited in use or application; applicable across a broad range.
5. Giving or consisting of only the most important aspects of something, ignoring minor details; indefinite.
6. Not of a specific class; miscellaneous.

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) The holder of a senior military title, originally designating the commander of an army and now a specific rank falling under field marshal (in the British army) and below general of the army or general of the air force in the US army and air forces.
2. (countable, uncountable) A great strategist or tactician.
3. (archaic, countable, uncountable) A general fact or proposition; a generality.
4. (countable, uncountable) The head of certain religious orders, especially Dominicans or Jesuits.
5. (countable, uncountable) A commander of naval forces; an admiral.
6. (colloquial, countable, historical, uncountable) A general servant; a maid-of-all-work.
7. (countable) A general anesthetic.
8. (uncountable) General anesthesia.
9. (uncountable) The general insurance industry.
10. (countable, uncountable) A xiangqi piece that is moved one point orthogonally and confined within the palace.

Verb

To lead (soldiers) as a general.

Adv

In a general or collective manner or sense; in most cases; upon the whole.

Opposite of

specific, special, particular, generic, abnormal, uncommon

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈd͡ʒɛn.(ə.)ɹəl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: general

In summary

From Middle English general, in turn from Anglo-Norman general, generall, Middle French general, and their source, Latin generālis, from genus (“class, kind”) + -ālis (“-al”); thus morphologically parallel with, and a doublet of, generic.

Synonyms

common

universal

usual

ordinary

public

overall

all

widespread

worldwide

commander

popular

broad

normal

generic

average

chief

oecumenical

army commander

commander-in-chief

total

admiral

of all things

prevailing

generalized

complete

inclusive

commonplace

full general

military commander

shogun

whole

captain

ecumenical

customary

current

cosmopolitan

gross

superior general

comprehensive

collective

commanding officer

commandant

frequent

extensive

main

leader

most

general-purpose

generally

communal

Sentences

He then tried to solve the general insecurity .

The proposal that dogs can detect cancer attracted widespread coverage in the general media .

Thus , "-megc" qualifies as a converb in the general linguistic sense .