general

CEFRA1

/ˈd͡ʒɛn.(ə.)ɹəl/

adjective · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Relating to most people or things rather than one specific case.

  2. 02

    noun

    A high-ranking army officer.

Examples

  • As soon as he graduated, he went to work in his father's general store.

  • In general, little is known about nonlinear second order differential equations.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈd͡ʒen.(ə.)ɹəl/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. 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.

  2. Prevalent or widespread among a given class or area; common, usual.

  3. Including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole, etc.; common to all, universal.

More examples

In context

  • The general manager announced the new holiday schedule today.

  • Hannibal was one of the greatest generals of the ancient world.

  • General Eisenhower was the first SACEUR.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The highest-ranking officer, the blank, gave the order to attack.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

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”).