generalisation
gb/d͡ʒˈɛnɚəlɪsˈeɪʃən/ us/d͡ʒˈɛnɚəlɪsˈeɪʃən/
B2
Englisch
Bedeutungen
0 Bedeutungen
Nomen
B2
abstract
1
broad claim about a whole group
A general statement about many things or people, often not true for all of them.
Verwendungsmuster:
a generalisation (about [someone/something])
Häufiger Fehler:
Learners may use a generalisation as if it were a proven fact; in English it often suggests the statement may be too broad or unfair.
Synonyme
sweeping statement (Emphasises that it is too broad or unfair.)
|
broad claim (Highlights lack of detail rather than unfairness.)
|
generalization (US spelling.)
Antonyme
specific claim (Limited to a particular case rather than a whole category.)
|
detail (Focuses on precise information instead of a broad summary.)
Wortverbindungen
a sweeping generalisation
|a broad generalisation
|a crude generalisation
|an unfair generalisation
|a misleading generalisation
|a dangerous generalisation
|a lazy generalisation
|to make generalisations
|to avoid generalisations
|to challenge a generalisation
Themen
communication
|thinking
|society
Beispiele
- Saying that teenagers are lazy is a common generalisation.
- It’s a dangerous generalisation to assume everyone from one country thinks the same way.
- The report avoids generalisations and gives concrete examples.
Beispiele für Lernende
- That is a generalisation about students.
- Try not to make generalisations.
Nomen
formal
C1
process
2
forming a general rule from examples
Making a general rule by looking at many examples.
Verwendungsmuster:
generalisation from [examples/data]
Häufiger Fehler:
Learners sometimes confuse the process (generalisation) with a single broad statement (a generalisation).
Synonyme
abstraction (Often suggests focusing on the essential features and ignoring details.)
|
induction (A more technical term for reasoning from particular cases to a general conclusion.)
Antonyme
particularisation (Moving from general ideas to specific cases.)
|
specification (Making something more detailed or exact.)
Wortverbindungen
generalisation from data
|generalisation from experience
|the ability to generalise
|to draw a generalisation
|to test a generalisation
|to support a generalisation
|to base a generalisation on evidence
|a useful generalisation
|a valid generalisation
|a rough generalisation
Themen
education
|thinking
|science
Beispiele
- Children learn language through generalisation from the speech they hear.
- The theory depends on generalisation from a small number of observations.
- Good teaching encourages generalisation, not just memorisation.
Beispiele für Lernende
- We learn by generalisation from examples.
Nomen
technical
C1
property
3
working well in new cases
How well something works on new examples.
Verwendungsmuster:
generalisation to [new data/populations/situations]
Häufiger Fehler:
Often confused with 'generalisation' meaning a broad statement about people; in this sense it refers to performance beyond the original data.
Synonyme
transferability (Emphasises working in different settings or tasks.)
|
external validity (Common in research; emphasises whether findings apply beyond the study sample.)
Antonyme
overfitting (Performing well on training data but badly on new data.)
Wortverbindungen
good generalisation
|poor generalisation
|generalisation performance
|generalisation error
|generalisation ability
|generalisation to new data
|out-of-sample generalisation
|improve generalisation
|test generalisation
|lack of generalisation
Themen
technology
|science
|statistics
Beispiele
- The model shows strong generalisation on unseen data.
- We added regularisation to improve generalisation performance.
- The study’s main weakness is limited generalisation to other populations.
Beispiele für Lernende
- This model has good generalisation.
Nomen
formal
C1
process
4
making something less specific
Changing something so it applies to more cases.
Verwendungsmuster:
generalisation of [something] (to [a wider area/group])
Häufiger Fehler:
In this sense, it refers to changing scope, not to making a possibly unfair statement about people.
Synonyme
broadening (Emphasises expanding scope.)
|
extension (Often used when expanding a rule or idea to cover more cases.)
Antonyme
specialisation (Making something more narrowly focused or specific.)
|
narrowing (Reducing scope or applicability.)
Wortverbindungen
generalisation of a rule
|generalisation of a principle
|generalisation of a policy
|generalisation of findings
|the generalisation of a model
|a further generalisation
|a gradual generalisation
|the need for generalisation
|generalisation to a wider context
|generalisation across contexts
Themen
business
|law
|communication
Beispiele
- The generalisation of the rule created confusion in some departments.
- They argued for the generalisation of the pilot scheme to other regions.
- This is a useful generalisation of earlier work, but it loses some detail.
Beispiele für Lernende
- The change is a generalisation of the old rule.
Nomen
technical
C2
process
5
spreading a language pattern
In language study: when a rule starts to apply more widely.
Verwendungsmuster:
generalisation of [a pattern/rule] (to [contexts])
Synonyme
regularisation (Focuses on making irregular patterns more regular (a common result of generalisation).)
Antonyme
restriction (A pattern applying in fewer contexts rather than more.)
Wortverbindungen
rule generalisation
|pattern generalisation
|generalisation of a sound change
|generalisation of an ending
|generalisation across paradigms
|a process of generalisation
|generalisation of a construction
Themen
language
|linguistics
|education
Beispiele
- The generalisation of the -ed ending is common in learners’ English.
- The paper traces the generalisation of a sound pattern across dialects.
- Analogy can drive generalisation in verb forms over time.
Grammatik
Grundform
generalisation
IPA
GB/d͡ʒˈɛnɚəlɪsˈeɪʃən/
US/d͡ʒˈɛnɚəlɪsˈeɪʃən/
Silben & Betonung
gen - er - al - isa - tion (5 Silben)
Stress on 1st syllable (gen)
Wortformen
Noun
- Base: generalisation
- Plural: generalisation, generalisations
Wortfamilie
Forms
generalisations
noun
Core family
Related words
generalist
noun C1
generalisable
adjective
Negative and opposite forms
specific
adjective B1
specifically
adverb B1
Advanced or less common
generality
noun
overgeneralise
verb
overgeneralisation
noun
Ausdrücke
as a generalisation
1/ˈæz ə d͡ʒˈɛnɚəlɪsˈeɪʃən/
fixed phrase
formal
as a rough overall statement
Used to show you are speaking generally, not exactly.
Beispiele
- As a generalisation, small companies move faster than large ones.
- As a generalisation, winter is wetter on the west coast.
- As a generalisation, the training helped, but some teams still struggled.
broad generalisation
1/bɹˈɔd d͡ʒˈɛnɚəlɪsˈeɪʃən/
fixed phrase
general statement lacking detail
A general idea, not the details.
Beispiele
- As a broad generalisation, prices have risen over the last decade.
- The introduction offers a broad generalisation before the detailed analysis.
- That may be true in broad generalisation, but there are many exceptions.
hasty generalisation
1/hˈeɪsti d͡ʒˈɛnɚəlɪsˈeɪʃən/
fixed phrase
formal
conclusion from too little evidence
A wrong general idea from only a few examples.
Beispiele
- One bad review isn’t enough to avoid the restaurant; that’s a hasty generalisation.
- The argument relies on hasty generalisation from two cases.
- Researchers warned against hasty generalisations based on early results.
make a generalisation
1/mˈeɪk ə d͡ʒˈɛnɚəlɪsˈeɪʃən/
fixed phrase
state something in general terms
To say something general about many things or people.
Beispiele
- I don’t want to make a generalisation about all managers, but some are difficult.
- It’s risky to make generalisations from one experience.
- The speaker made a generalisation that didn’t fit the facts.
sweeping generalisation
1/swˈipɪŋ d͡ʒˈɛnɚəlɪsˈeɪʃən/
fixed phrase
very broad, often unfair claim
A statement that is too general and often not true.
Beispiele
- It’s a sweeping generalisation to say the whole city is unsafe.
- The article makes sweeping generalisations about single parents.
- Avoid sweeping generalisations when you write academically.