Relating to a genus or kind; pertaining to a whole class or order; as, a general law of animal or vegetable economy. [1913 Webster]
Comprehending many species or individuals; not special or particular; including all particulars; as, a general inference or conclusion. [1913 Webster]
Not restrained or limited to a precise import; not specific; vague; indefinite; lax in signification; as, a loose and general expression. [1913 Webster]
Common to many, or the greatest number; widely spread; prevalent; extensive, though not universal; as, a general opinion; a general custom. [1913 Webster]
"This general applause and cheerful shout
Argue your wisdom and your love to Richard." [1913 Webster]
Having a relation to all; common to the whole; as, Adam, our general sire. Milton. [1913 Webster]
As a whole; in gross; for the most part. [1913 Webster]
"His general behavior vain, ridiculous." [1913 Webster]
Usual; common, on most occasions; as, his general habit or method. [1913 Webster]
" The word general, annexed to a name of office, usually denotes chief or superior; as, attorney-general; adjutant general; commissary general; quartermaster general; vicar-general, etc." [1913 Webster]

General agent (Law), an agent whom a principal employs to transact all his business of a particular kind, or to act in his affairs generally. -- General assembly. See the Note under Assembly. -- General average, General Court. See under Average, Court. -- General court-martial (Mil.), the highest military and naval judicial tribunal. -- General dealer (Com.), a shopkeeper who deals in all articles in common use. -- General demurrer (Law), a demurrer which objects to a pleading in general terms, as insufficient, without specifying the defects. Abbott. -- General epistle, a canonical epistle. -- General guides (Mil.), two sergeants (called the right, and the left, general guide) posted opposite the right and left flanks of an infantry battalion, to preserve accuracy in marching. Farrow. -- General hospitals (Mil.), hospitals established to receive sick and wounded sent from the field hospitals. Farrow. General issue (Law), an issue made by a general plea, which traverses the whole declaration or indictment at once, without offering any special matter to evade it. Bouvier. Burrill. -- General lien (Law), a right to detain a chattel, etc., until payment is made of any balance due on a general account. -- General officer (Mil.), any officer having a rank above that of colonel. -- General orders (Mil.), orders from headquarters published to the whole command. -- General practitioner, in the United States, one who practices medicine in all its branches without confining himself to any specialty; in England, one who practices both as physician and as surgeon. -- General ship, a ship not chartered or let to particular parties. -- General term (Logic), a term which is the sign of a general conception or notion. -- General verdict (Law), the ordinary comprehensive verdict in civil actions, “for the plaintiff” or “for the defendant”. Burrill. -- General warrant (Law), a warrant, now illegal, to apprehend suspected persons, without naming individuals.

Syn. General, Common, Universal.

general, n. [F. général. See General., a.].

The whole; the total; that which comprehends or relates to all, or the chief part; -- opposed to particular. [1913 Webster]
"In particulars our knowledge begins, and so spreads itself by degrees to generals." [1913 Webster]
One of the chief military officers of a government or country; the commander of an army, of a body of men not less than a brigade. In European armies, the highest military rank next below field marshal. [1913 Webster]
" In the United States the office of General of the Army has been created by temporary laws, and has been held only by Generals U. S. Grant, W. T. Sherman, and P. H. Sheridan. <-- = 5-star general. Eisenhower? MacArthur? Pershing? -->Popularly, the title General is given to various general officers, as General, Lieutenant general, Major general, Brigadier general, Commissary general, etc. See Brigadier general, Lieutenant general, Major general, in the Vocabulary." [1913 Webster]
The roll of the drum which calls the troops together; as, to beat the general. [1913 Webster]
The chief of an order of monks, or of all the houses or congregations under the same rule. [1913 Webster]
The public; the people; the vulgar. Shak. [1913 Webster]

In general, in the main; for the most part.

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OXFORD DICTIONARY

general, adj. & n.
--adj.
1 a completely or almost universal. b including or affecting all or nearly all parts or cases of things.
2 prevalent, widespread, usual.
3 not partial, particular, local, or sectional.
4 not limited in application; relating to whole classes or all cases.
5 including points common to the individuals of a class and neglecting the differences (a general term).
6 not restricted or specialized (general knowledge).
7 a roughly corresponding or adequate. b sufficient for practical purposes.
8 not detailed (a general resemblance; a general idea).
9 vague, indefinite (spoke only in general terms).
10 chief or principal; having overall authority (general manager; Secretary-General).
--n.
1 a an army officer ranking next below Field Marshal or above lieutenant-general. b US = lieutenant-general, major-general.
2 a commander of an army.
3 a tactician or strategist of specified merit (a great general).
4 the head of a religious order, e.g. of the Jesuits or Dominicans or the Salvation Army.
5 (prec. by the) archaic the public.

Idiom

as a general rule in most cases. General American a form of US speech not markedly dialectal or regional. General Certificate of Education
1 an examination set esp. for secondary-school pupils at advanced level in England and Wales.
2 the certificate gained by passing it. General Certificate of Secondary Education an examination replacing and combining the GCE ordinary level and CSE examinations. general delivery US the delivery of letters to callers at a post office. general election the election of representatives to a legislature (esp. in the UK to the House of Commons) from constituencies throughout the country. general headquarters the headquarters of a military commander. general meeting a meeting open to all the members of a society etc. general of the army (or air force) US the officer of the highest rank in the army or air force. general practice the work of a general practitioner. general practitioner a doctor working in the community and treating cases of all kinds in the first instance, as distinct from a consultant or specialist. general staff the staff assisting a military commander in planning and administration. general strike a strike of workers in all or most trades. General Synod the highest governing body in the Church of England.
in general
1 as a normal rule; usually.
2 for the most part.

Derivative

generalness n.

Etymology

ME f. OF f. L generalis (as GENUS)

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THESAURUS

general

ADC, Babbittish, CO, OD, Philistine, abstract, accepted, accustomed, across the board, aide, aide-de-camp, aleatoric, aleatory, all-inclusive, amorphous, approximate, ascendant, associated, assorted, at the head, bland, blanket, blended, blobby, blurred, blurry, boss, bourgeois, brigadier, brigadier general, broad, campy, captain, casual, catholic, chance, chancy, chaotic, chicken colonel, chief, chief of staff, civic, civil, collective, collectivistic, colonel, combined, commandant, commander, commander in chief, commanding, commanding officer, commissioned officer, common, commonplace, communal, communistic, community, commutual, company officer, composite, comprehensive, confused, conjoint, controlling, cooperative, cosmopolitan, customary, disordered, diversified, dominant, encyclopedic, everyday, exec, executive officer, extended, extensive, familiar, featureless, field marshal, field officer, first lieutenant, five-star general, foggy, four-star general, fuzzy, general officer, generalissimo, generalized, generic, global, governing, habitual, hazy, head, hegemonic, hegemonistic, heterogeneous, high-camp, hit-or-miss, homely, homespun, humdrum, hybrid, ill-defined, imprecise, imprudent, in ascendancy, in charge, in chief, in common, in the ascendant, inaccurate, inchoate, inclusive, incoherent, indecisive, indefinable, indefinite, indeterminable, indeterminate, indiscreet, indiscriminate, indiscriminative, indistinct, inexact, insensitive, international, jemadar, joint, junior officer, kitschy, lax, leading, lieutenant, lieutenant colonel, lieutenant general, loose, low-camp, major, major general, marechal, marshal, master, miscellaneous, mixed, mongrel, mutual, national, natural, naturalistic, naturistic, nebulous, neutral, nonjudgmental, nonspecific, normal, obscure, officer, one-star general, orderless, orderly, orderly officer, ordinary, overall, panoramic, paramount, plebeian, pop, popular, predominant, predominate, prepollent, preponderant, preponderate, prepotent, prevailing, prevalent, promiscuous, public, random, realistic, reciprocal, regnant, regular, regulating, regulative, regulatory, reigning, risaldar, routine, ruling, run-of-the-mill, senior officer, shadowed forth, shadowy, shapeless, shared, shavetail, sirdar, social, socialistic, societal, sovereign, staff officer, state, stochastic, subahdar, subaltern, sublieutenant, supranational, supreme, sweeping, tactless, the Old Man, the brass, three-star general, top brass, two-star general, typical, uncharacterized, unclear, uncritical, uncriticizing, undefined, undemanding, undestined, undetermined, undifferentiated, undifferentiating, undiscreet, undiscriminating, undiscriminative, uneventful, unexacting, unexceptional, unfastidious, universal, unmeticulous, unparticular, unplain, unrestricted, unselective, unspecific, unspecified, unsubtle, untactful, usual, vague, veiled, vernacular, vulgar, wholesale, wide, widespread, worldwide

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ROGET THESAURUS

general

Habit

N habit, habitude, assuetude, assuefaction, wont, run, way, common state of things, general state of things, natural state of things, ordinary state of things, ordinary course of things, ordinary run of things, matter of course, beaten path, beaten track, beaten ground, prescription, custom, use, usage, immemorial usage, practice, prevalence, observance, conventionalism, conventionality, mode, fashion, vogue, etiquette, order of the day, cry, conformity, consuetude, dustoor, one's old way, old school, veteris vestigia flammae, laudator temporis acti, rule, standing order, precedent, routine, red-tape, red-tapism, pipe clay, rut, groove, cacoethes, bad habit, confirmed habit, inveterate habit, intrinsic habit, addiction, trick, training, seasoning, second nature, acclimatization, knack, habitual, accustomary, prescriptive, accustomed, of daily occurrence, of everyday occurrence, consuetudinary, wonted, usual, general, ordinary, common, frequent, everyday, household, garden variety, jog, trot, well-trodden, well-known, familiar, vernacular, trite, commonplace, conventional, regular, set, stock, established, stereotyped, prevailing, prevalent, current, received, acknowledged, recognized, accredited, of course, admitted, understood, conformable, according to use, according to custom, according to routine, in vogue, in fashion, in, with it, fashionable, wont, used to, given to, addicted to, attuned to, habituated, in the habit of, habitue, at home in, seasoned, imbued with, devoted to, wedded to, hackneyed, fixed, rooted, deep-rooted, ingrafted, permanent, inveterate, besetting, naturalized, ingrained, habitually, always, as usual, as is one's wont, as things go, as the world goes, as the sparks fly upwards, more suo, more solito, ex more, as a rule, for the most part, usually, generally, typically, most often, most frequently, cela s'entend, abeunt studia in mores, adeo in teneris consuescere multum est, consuetudo quasi altera natura, hoc erat in more majorum, How use doth breed a habit in a man!, magna est vis consuetudinis, morent fecerat usus.

Generality

N generality, generalization, universality, catholicity, catholicism, miscellany, miscellaneousness, dragnet, common run, worldwideness, everyone, everybody, all hands, all the world and his wife, anybody, N or M, all sorts, prevalence, run, general, generic, collective, broad, comprehensive, sweeping, encyclopedical, widespread, universal, catholic, catholical, common, worldwide, ecumenical, oecumenical, transcendental, prevalent, prevailing, rife, epidemic, besetting, all over, covered with, Pan-American, Anglican, Pan-Hellenic, Pan-Germanic, slavic, panharmonic, every, all, unspecified, impersonal, customary, whatever, whatsoever, to a man, one and all, generally, always, for better for worse, in general, generally speaking, speaking generally, for the most part, in the long run.

Master

N master, padrone, lord, lord paramount, commander, commandant, captain, chief, chieftain, sirdar, sachem, sheik, head, senior, governor, ruler, dictator, leader, boss, cockarouse, sagamore, werowance, lord of the ascendant, cock of the walk, cock of the roost, gray mare, mistress, potentate, liege, liege lord, suzerain, sovereign, monarch, autocrat, despot, tyrant, oligarch, crowned head, emperor, king, anointed king, majesty, imperator, protector, president, stadholder, judge, ceasar, kaiser, czar, tsar, sultan, soldan, grand Turk, caliph, imaum, shah, padishah, sophi, mogul, great mogul, khan, lama, tycoon, mikado, tenno, inca, cazique, voivode, landamman, seyyid, Abuna, cacique, czarowitz, grand seignior, prince, duke, archduke, doge, elector, seignior, marland, margrave, rajah, emir, wali, sheik nizam, nawab, empress, queen, sultana, czarina, princess, infanta, duchess, margravine, czarevna, czarita, maharani, rani, rectrix, regent, viceroy, exarch, palatine, khedive, hospodar, beglerbeg, three-tailed bashaw, pasha, bashaw, bey, beg, dey, scherif, tetrarch, satrap, mandarin, subahdar, nabob, maharajah, burgrave, laird, collector, commissioner, deputy commissioner, woon, the authorities, the powers that be, the government, staff, etat major, aga, official, man in office, person in authority, sircar, sirkar, Sublime Porte, marshal, field marshal, marechal, general, generalissimo, commander in chief, seraskier, hetman, lieutenant general, major general, colonel, lieutenant colonel, major, captain, centurion, skipper, lieutenant, first lieutenant, second lieutenant, sublieutenant, officer, staff officer, aide-de-camp, brigadier, brigade major, adjutant, jemidar, ensign, cornet, cadet, subaltern, noncommissioned officer, warrant officer, sergeant, sergeant major, color sergeant, corporal, corporal major, lance corporal, acting corporal, drum major, captain general, dizdar, knight marshal, naik, pendragon, mayor, mayoralty, prefect, chancellor, archon, provost, magistrate, syndic, alcalde, alcaid, burgomaster, corregidor, seneschal, alderman, councilman, committeeman, councilwoman, warden, constable, portreeve, lord mayor, officer, dewan, fonctionnaire, admiral, admiralty, rear admiral, vice admiral, port admiral, commodore, captain, commander, lieutenant, ensign, skipper, mate, master, officer of the day, OD, navarch, da locum melioribus, der Furst ist der erste Diener seines Staats, the prince is the first servant of his state, lord of thy presence and no land beside.

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