generalization

UK: /ˌdʒɛnrəlaɪˈzeɪʃ^ən/

US: /ˌdʒɛnərələˈzeɪʃən/

US: ( jen′ər ə lə zā′shən)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

gen•er•al•i•za•tion /ˌdʒɛnərələˈzeɪʃən/   n. 

1. [uncountable] the act or process of generalizing.
2. [countable] a statement that is a general idea or principle.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

gen•er•al•i•za•tion  ( jen′ər ə lə zā′shən), n. 

1. the act or process of generalizing.
2. a result of this process;
   a general statement, idea, or principle.
3. Philosophy [Logic.]
   • a proposition asserting something to be true either of all members of a certain class or of an indefinite part of that class.
   • the process of obtaining such propositions.
4. Animal Behavior, Psychology [Psychol.]
   • Also called stimulus generalization. the act or process of responding to a stimulus similar to but distinct from the conditioned stimulus.
   • Also called response generalization. the act or process of making a different but similar response to the same stimulus.
   • Also called mediated generalization. the act or process of responding to a stimulus not physically similar to the conditioned stimulus and not previously encountered in conditioning.
   • the act or process of perceiving similarity or relation between different stimuli, as between words, colors, sounds, lights, concepts or feelings;
     the formation of a general notion.

• generalize + -ation 1755–65

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

generalization, generalisation / ˌdʒɛnrəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/ noun

1. a principle, theory, etc, with general application
2. the act or an instance of generalizing
3. the evoking of a response learned to one stimulus by a different but similar stimulus
   See also conditioning
4. the derivation of a general statement from a particular one, formally by prefixing a quantifier and replacing a subject term by a bound variable. If the quantifier is universal (universal generalization) the argument is not in general valid; if it is existential (existential generalization) it is valid