GENERAL

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does general mean? 

• GENERAL (noun)
  The noun GENERAL has 3 senses:

1. a general officer of the highest rank

2. the head of a religious order or congregation

3. a fact about the whole (as opposed to particular)

  Familiarity information: GENERAL used as a noun is uncommon.

• GENERAL (adjective)
  The adjective GENERAL has 6 senses:

1. applying to all or most members of a category or group

2. not specialized or limited to one class of things

3. prevailing among and common to the general public

4. affecting the entire body

5. somewhat indefinite

6. of worldwide scope or applicability

  Familiarity information: GENERAL used as an adjective is common.

• GENERAL (verb)
  The verb GENERAL has 1 sense:

1. command as a general

  Familiarity information: GENERAL used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GENERAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A general officer of the highest rank

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

full general; general

Hypernyms ("general" is a kind of...):

general officer (officers in the Army or Air Force or Marines above the rank of colonel)

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "general"):

Blucher; G. L. von Blucher; Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher; von Blucher (Prussian general who is remembered for his leadership in the wars against Napoleon (1742-1819))

Instance hyponyms:

Lysander (Spartan general who defeated the Athenians in the final battle of the Peloponnesian War (died in 395 BC))

Black Jack Pershing; John Joseph Pershing; Pershing (United States general who commanded the American forces in Europe during World War I (1860-1948))

Duc d'Elchingen; Michel Ney; Ney (French marshal in the Napoleonic Wars (1769-1815))

Bonaparte; Little Corporal; Napoleon; Napoleon Bonaparte; Napoleon I (French general who became emperor of the French (1769-1821))

1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein; Bernard Law Montgomery; Montgomery; Sir Bernard Law Montgomery (English general during World War II; won victories over Rommel in North Africa and led British ground forces in the invasion of Normandy (1887-1976))

Billy Mitchell; Mitchell; William Mitchell (United States aviator and general who was an early advocate of military air power (1879-1936))

Miltiades (Athenian general who defeated the Persians at Marathon (540-489))

George Gordon Meade; Meade (United States general in charge of the Union troops at the Battle of Gettysburg (1815-1872))

George Catlett Marshall; George Marshall; Marshall (United States general and statesman who as Secretary of State organized the European Recovery Program (1880-1959))

Douglas MacArthur; MacArthur (United States general who served as chief of staff and commanded Allied forces in the South Pacific during World War II; he accepted the surrender of Japan (1880-1964))

Lysimachus (Macedonian general under Alexander the Great; with Seleucus he defeated Antigonus and Demetrius at the battle of Ipsus (circa 355-281 BC))

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus; Pompey; Pompey the Great (Roman general and statesman who quarrelled with Caesar and fled to Egypt where he was murdered (106-48 BC))

Lucius Licinius Luculus; Luculus (Roman general famous for giving lavish banquets (110-57 BC))

Licinius Lucullus; Lucius Licinius Lucullus; Lucullus (Roman general famous for self-indulgence and giving lavish banquets (circa 110-57 BC))

Lee; Robert E. Lee; Robert Edward Lee (American general who led the Confederate Armies in the American Civil War (1807-1870))

Flavius Josephus; Joseph ben Matthias; Josephus (Jewish general who led the revolt of the Jews against the Romans and then wrote a history of those events (37-100))

J. E. Johnston; Johnston; Joseph Eggleston Johnston (Confederate general in the American Civil War; led the Confederate troops in the West (1807-1891))

Jackson; Stonewall Jackson; Thomas J. Jackson; Thomas Jackson; Thomas Jonathan Jackson (general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War whose troops at the first Battle of Bull Run stood like a stone wall (1824-1863))

Andrew Jackson; Jackson; Old Hickory (7th president of the US; successfully defended New Orleans from the British in 1815; expanded the power of the presidency (1767-1845))

Houston; Sam Houston; Samuel Houston (United States politician and military leader who fought to gain independence for Texas from Mexico and to make it a part of the United States (1793-1863))

Siraj-ud-daula (Indian general and nawab of Bengal who opposed the colonization of India by England; he captured Calcutta in 1756 and many of his prisoners suffocated in a crowded room that became known as the Black Hole of Calcutta; he was defeated at the battle of Plassey by a group of Indian nobles in alliance with Robert Clive (1728-1757))

Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov; Georgi Zhukov; Zhukov (Soviet general who during World War II directed the counteroffensive at Stalingrad and relieved Leningrad and captured Berlin (1896-1974))

Xenophon (Greek general and historian; student of Socrates (430-355 BC))

Arthur Wellesley; Duke of Wellington; First Duke of Wellington; Iron Duke; Wellington (British general and statesman; he defeated Napoleon at Waterloo; subsequently served as Prime Minister (1769-1852))

Anthony Wayne; Mad Anthony Wayne; Wayne (American general during the American Revolution (1745-1796))

Archibald Percival Wavell; First Earl Wavell; Wavell (British field marshal in North Africa in World War II; he defeated the Italians before being defeated by the Germans (1883-1950))

George Washington; President Washington; Washington (1st President of the United States; commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution (1732-1799))

Albrecht Eusebius Wenzel von Wallenstein; Wallenstein (Austrian general who fought for the Hapsburgs during the Thirty Years' War (1583-1634))

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix; Sulla (Roman general and dictator (138-78 BC))

Joseph Warren Stilwell; Stilwell; Uncle Joe; Vinegar Joe Stilwell (United States general who commanded the Allied forces in China and Burma and India during World War II (1883-1946))

George Edward Pickett; Pickett (American Confederate general known for leading a disastrous charge at Gettysburg (1825-1875))

Sherman; William Tecumseh Sherman (United States general who was commander of all Union troops in the West; he captured Atlanta and led a destructive march to the sea that cut the Confederacy in two (1820-1891))

Seleucus; Seleucus I; Seleucus I Nicator (Macedonian general who accompanied Alexander the Great into Asia; founded a line of kings who reigned in Asia Minor until 65 BC (358-281 BC))

Scott; Winfield Scott (United States general who was a hero of the War of 1812 and who defeated Santa Anna in the Mexican War (1786-1866))

Publius Cornelius Scipio; Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major; Scipio; Scipio Africanus; Scipio Africanus Major; Scipio the Elder (Roman general who commanded the invasion of Carthage in the second Punic War and defeated Hannibal at Zama (circa 237-183 BC))

comte de Saxe; Hermann Maurice Saxe; Marshal Saxe; Saxe (a French marshal who distinguished himself in the War of the Austrian Succession (1696-1750))

Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana; Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna; Santa Ana; Santa Anna (Mexican general who tried to crush the Texas revolt and who lost battles to Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War (1795-1876))

Comte de Rochambeau; Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur; Rochambeau (French general who commanded French troops in the American Revolution, notably at Yorktown (1725-1807))

Colin luther Powell; Colin Powell; Powell (United States general who was the first African American to serve as chief of staff; later served as Secretary of State under President George W. Bush (born 1937))

Holofernes ((Apocrypha) the Assyrian general who was decapitated by the biblical heroine Judith)

Burgoyne; Gentleman Johnny; John Burgoyne (British general in the American Revolution who captured Fort Ticonderoga but lost the battle of Saratoga in 1777 (1722-1792))

Charles Cornwallis; Cornwallis; First Marquess Cornwallis (commander of the British forces in the American War of Independence; was defeated by American and French troops at Yorktown (1738-1805))

Baron Clive; Baron Clive of Plassey; Clive; Robert Clive (British general and statesman whose victory at Plassey in 1757 strengthened British control of India (1725-1774))

Clay; Lucius Clay; Lucius DuBignon Clay (United States general who commanded United States forces in Europe from 1945 to 1949 and who oversaw the Berlin airlift (1897-1978))

Clausewitz; Karl von Clausewitz (Prussian general and military theorist who proposed a doctrine of total war and war as an extension of diplomacy (1780-1831))

Clark; Mark Clark; Mark Wayne Clark (United States general who was Allied commander in Africa and Italy in World War II and was commander of the United Nations forces in Korea (1896-1984))

Churchill; Duke of Marlborough; First Duke of Marlborough; John Churchill (English general considered one of the greatest generals in history (1650-1722))

Chiang Chung-cheng; Chiang Kai-shek (Chinese military and political figure; in the Chinese civil war that followed World War II he was defeated by the Chinese communists and in 1949 was forced to withdraw to Taiwan where he served as president of Nationalist China until his death (1897-1975))

Caesar; Gaius Julius Caesar; Julius Caesar (conqueror of Gaul and master of Italy (100-44 BC))

A. E. Burnside; Ambrose Everett Burnside; Burnside (United States general in the American Civil War who was defeated by Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Fredericksburg (1824-1881))

Cromwell; Ironsides; Oliver Cromwell (English general and statesman who led the parliamentary army in the English Civil War (1599-1658))

Bragg; Braxton Bragg (Confederate general during the American Civil War who was defeated by Grant in the battle of Chattanooga (1817-1876))

Bradley; Omar Bradley; Omar Nelson Bradley (United States general who played an important role in the Allied victory in World War II (1893-1981))

Bolivar; El Libertador; Simon Bolivar (Venezuelan statesman who led the revolt of South American colonies against Spanish rule; founded Bolivia in 1825 (1783-1830))

Belshazzar ((Old Testament) Babylonian general and son of Nebuchadnezzar II; according to the Old Testament he was warned of his doom by divine handwriting on the wall that was interpreted by Daniel (6th century BC))

Belisarius (Byzantine general under Justinian I; he recovered former Roman territories in northern Africa and fought against the Persians)

Arnold; Benedict Arnold (United States general and traitor in the American Revolution; in 1780 his plan to surrender West Point to the British was foiled (1741-1801))

Anthony; Antonius; Antony; Marcus Antonius; Mark Anthony; Mark Antony (Roman general under Julius Caesar in the Gallic wars; repudiated his wife for the Egyptian queen Cleopatra; they were defeated by Octavian at Actium (83-30 BC))

Antigonus; Antigonus Cyclops; Monophthalmos (a general of Alexander the Great and king of Macedonia; lost one eye; killed in a battle at Ipsus (382-301 BC))

Alcibiades (ancient Athenian statesman and general in the Peloponnesian War (circa 450-404 BC))

Flaminius; Gaius Flaminius (Roman statesman and general who built the Flaminian Way; died when he was defeated by Hannibal (died 217 BC))

Agricola; Gnaeus Julius Agricola (Roman general who was governor of Britain and extended Roman rule north to the Firth of Forth (37-93))

Hindenburg; Paul Ludwig von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg; Paul von Hindenburg (German field marshal and statesman; as president of the Weimar Republic he reluctantly appointed Hitler as chancellor in 1933 (1847-1934))

Hasdrubal (general who commanded a Carthaginian army in Spain; joined his brother Hannibal in Italy and was killed by the Romans at the battle of Metaurus River (died 207 BC))

Bomber Harris; Harris; Sir Arthur Travers Harris (British marshal of the Royal Air Force; during World War II he directed mass bombing raids against German cities that resulted in heavy civilian casualties (1892-1984))

Hannibal (general who commanded the Carthaginian army in the second Punic War; crossed the Alps and defeated the Romans but was recalled to defend Carthage and was defeated (247-182 BC))

Groves; Leslie Richard Groves (United States general who served as military director of the atomic bomb project (1896-1970))

Grant; Hiram Ulysses Grant; President Grant; Ulysses Grant; Ulysses S. Grant; Ulysses Simpson Grant (18th President of the United States; commander of the Union armies in the American Civil War (1822-1885))

Garibaldi; Giuseppe Garibaldi (Italian patriot whose conquest of Sicily and Naples led to the formation of the Italian state (1807-1882))

El Caudillo; Francisco Franco; Franco; General Franco (Spanish general whose armies took control of Spain in 1939 and who ruled as a dictator until his death (1892-1975))

Fighting Joe Hooker; Hooker; Joseph Hooker (United States general in the Union Army who was defeated at Chancellorsville by Robert E. Lee (1814-1879))

Eugene; Prince Eugene of Savoy (Austrian general in the service of the Holy Roman Empire during the War of the Spanish Succession (1663-1736))

Dwight D. Eisenhower; Dwight David Eisenhower; Dwight Eisenhower; Eisenhower; Ike; President Eisenhower (United States general who supervised the invasion of Normandy and the defeat of Nazi Germany; 34th President of the United States (1890-1961))

Baron Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding; Dowding; Dowdy; Hugh Dowding (British marshal of the RAF who commanded the British air defense forces that defeated the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain (1882-1970))

Doolittle; James Harold Doolittle; Jimmy Doolittle (United States Air Force officer who electrified the world in 1942 by leading a squadron of 16 bombers on a daylight raid over Tokyo (1896-1993))

Demetrius; Demetrius I; Demetrius Poliorcetes (son of Antigonus Cyclops and king of Macedonia; he and his father were defeated at the battle of Ipsus (337-283 BC))

Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle; Charles de Gaulle; de Gaulle; General Charles de Gaulle; General de Gaulle (French general and statesman who became very popular during World War II as the leader of the Free French forces in exile (1890-1970))

Dayan; Moshe Dayan (Israeli general and statesman (1915-1981))

Custer; General Custer; George Armstrong Custer (United States general who was killed along with all his command by the Sioux at the Battle of Little Bighorn (1839-1876))

Butcher Cumberland; Cumberland; Duke of Cumberland; William Augustus (English general; son of George II; fought unsuccessfully in the battle of Fontenoy (1721-1765))

Derivation:

general (command as a general)

generalship (the office and authority of a general)

generalship (the leadership ability of a military general)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The head of a religious order or congregation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

general; superior general

Hypernyms ("general" is a kind of...):

chief; head; top dog (a person who is in charge)

Derivation:

generalship (the office and authority of a general)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A fact about the whole (as opposed to particular)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

he discussed the general but neglected the particular

Hypernyms ("general" is a kind of...):

fact (a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred)

Antonym:

particular; specific (a fact about some part (as opposed to general))

Derivation:

general (applying to all or most members of a category or group)

general (not specialized or limited to one class of things)

• GENERAL (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Applying to all or most members of a category or group

Context example:

comprehensible to the general reader

Similar:

broad; unspecific (not detailed or specific)

all-purpose; general-purpose (not limited in use or function)

generic (applicable to an entire class or group)

gross (lacking fine distinctions or detail)

overall (involving only main features)

pandemic (existing everywhere)

universal (applicable to or common to all members of a group or set)

widespread (widely circulated or diffused)

Also:

comprehensive (including all or everything)

indiscriminate (not marked by fine distinctions)

imprecise (not precise)

unspecialised; unspecialized (not specialized or modified for a particular purpose or function)

Attribute:

generality (the quality of being general or widespread or having general applicability)

Antonym:

specific ((sometimes followed by 'to') applying to or characterized by or distinguishing something particular or special or unique)

Derivation:

general (a fact about the whole (as opposed to particular))

generality (the quality of being general or widespread or having general applicability)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Not specialized or limited to one class of things

Context example:

general knowledge

Similar:

undiversified (not diversified)

Derivation:

general (a fact about the whole (as opposed to particular))

generality (an idea or conclusion having general application)

generality (the quality of being general or widespread or having general applicability)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Prevailing among and common to the general public

Context example:

the general discontent

Similar:

common (having no special distinction or quality; widely known or commonly encountered; average or ordinary or usual)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Affecting the entire body

Context example:

general symptoms

Similar:

systemic (affecting an entire system)

Domain category:

medical specialty; medicine (the branches of medical science that deal with nonsurgical techniques)

Antonym:

local (affecting only a restricted part or area of the body)

Derivation:

generality (the quality of being general or widespread or having general applicability)

generality (an idea or conclusion having general application)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Somewhat indefinite

Context example:

a general description of the merchandise

Similar:

imprecise (not precise)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Of worldwide scope or applicability

Synonyms:

cosmopolitan; ecumenical; general; oecumenical; universal; world-wide; worldwide

Context example:

universal experience

Similar:

comprehensive (including all or everything)

• GENERAL (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Command as a general

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

We are generaled by an incompetent!

Hypernyms (to "general" is one way to...):

command (be in command of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

general (a general officer of the highest rank)

 Context examples 

"And you are so dreadfully general that I fail to follow you. What I was speaking of was the qualification of editors—"

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

General Tilney was not less sanguine, having already waited on her excellent friends in Pulteney Street, and obtained their sanction of his wishes.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

The invitation was general, and generally declined.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

“Hum! A doctor’s—general practitioner, I perceive,” said Holmes.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

She made me some general questions about my country and my travels, which I answered as distinctly, and in as few words as I could.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

There was no difference on tests of general knowledge.

(Algal Virus Infects, Affects Humans, NIH)

In general, women who have had children have a lower risk of breast cancer compared to women who have never given birth.

(Breast cancer protection from pregnancy starts decades later, National Institutes of Health)

Their spirits were in general exhausted; and to determine whether the day had afforded most pleasure or pain, might occupy the meditations of almost all.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

The results show that broad-based efforts to improve general air quality can significantly improve lung function in children.

(Cleaner Air Tied to Healthier Lungs in Kids, NIH)

In general terms, the findings showed that the resulting fractions presented no toxicity, except for high concentrations of the purest fractions.

(Scientists identify bioactive compounds in cacao pods to develop drugs to combat skeletal disorders, University of Granada)