Meaning & Definition of word "Generalize"

verb:

• 1. to make a general statement or conclusion based on specific cases or examples.
  • Example: From the data collected, the researchers were able to generalize the results to the entire population.
• 2. to formulate general concepts by abstracting common properties of instances.
  • Example: It is often tempting to generalize personal experiences and apply them to everyone.
• 3. to derive a general principle or rule from particular instances.
  • Example: He tends to generalize about cultures based on his limited travel experiences.
• 4. to refer to or establish a broad category.
  • Example: In her lecture, she generalized the trends observed in urban development.
• 5. to extend a property or behavior from one case to another.
  • Example: One should be cautious not to generalize findings from animal studies to humans without further research.