generic

American  

[juh-ner-ik] / dʒəˈnɛr ɪk /

adjective

1. of, applicable to, or referring to all the members of a genus, class, group, or kind; not specific; general.

   Synonyms:

   universal, common

   Antonyms:

   specific

2. of, relating to, or noting a genus especially in biology.

3. (of a word) applicable or referring to both men and women.

   a generic pronoun.

4. not protected by trademark registration.

   “Cola” and “shuttle” are generic terms.

   Synonyms:

   unbranded

5. having no distinguishing characteristics; commonplace.

   There are a lot of generic interviews, and the lack of unique perspective you get from interviewers is somewhat shocking.

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noun

1. something that is generic.

2. any product, as a type of food, drug, or cosmetic commonly marketed under a brand name, that is sold in a package without a brand.

3. a wine made from two or more varieties of grapes, with no one grape constituting more than half the product (varietal ).

generic British  

/ dʒɪˈnɛrɪk /

adjective

1. applicable or referring to a whole class or group; general

2. biology of, relating to, or belonging to a genus

   the generic name

3. denoting the nonproprietary name of a drug, food product, etc

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noun

1. a drug, food product, etc that does not have a trademark

Other Word Forms

• generically adverb
• genericalness noun
• nongeneric adjective
• nongenerical adjective
• nongenerically adverb
• pseudogeneric adjective
• pseudogenerical adjective
• pseudogenerically adverb
• supergeneric adjective
• supergenerically adverb
• ungeneric adjective
• ungenerical adjective
• ungenerically adverb

Etymology

Origin of generic

First recorded in 1670–80; from Latin gener- ( gender ¹ ) + -ic

Example Sentences

Like Poppy, he says the process has been dragged out with his provider not providing any updates beyond generic emails every 28 days.

From BBC

Much of it has fallen into the category of “AI slop,” which as I reported in December was typically flat, dull and hopelessly generic.

From Los Angeles Times

The analysts say their forecast for Novartis’s quarterly sales of $13.3 billion is in line with consensus estimates, but they anticipate worse generic pressure and the recently closed Avidity deal to dilute margins.

From The Wall Street Journal

Five years ago, the singer - better known as Raye - made a bid for freedom, cutting ties with record label who'd forced her to make generic dance tracks she dismissed as "really boring".

From BBC

Somewhere on that paperwork will be a number to call — ideally for a life insurance agent who sold the policy to your parents, but it may be a more generic customer service line.

From Salon

Related Words

• universal