Meaning & use
generic
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Belonging to a whole group or type, not specific to any one example.
Grammar: Can be used before a noun or after a verb: a generic term, the term is generic.
Patterns
- a generic term for something
Tissue is often used as a generic term for facial wipes.
The word vehicle is generic and includes cars and trucks.
This is a generic problem in many big cities.
adjectivebefore a nounbusiness
Sold without a brand name, usually cheaper than named products.
Grammar: Describes goods: generic drugs, generic cereal.
Patterns
- generic version of something
The pharmacist offered a generic version of the drug.
Generic cereal costs half as much as the branded kind.
She buys generic painkillers for the first aid kit.
adjectivecomparabledisapproving
Lacking character or originality, so it could suit anyone.
Grammar: Often disapproving: a generic reply.
Patterns
- sound generic
The email felt generic, as if sent to everyone.
His cover letter was too generic to impress.
The film's ending was a bland, generic finish.
Common combinations
- generic drug
- A generic drug works like the original at lower cost.
- generic term
- Fruit is a generic term for apples, pears, and plums.
- generic brand
- We bought the generic brand of detergent.
- generic name
- Ibuprofen is the generic name of that medicine.
- sound generic
- Your answer sounds generic; add a personal detail.
Synonyms and how they differ
- general
- General means broad rather than specific, but it does not suggest lack of originality as generic can.
- unbranded
- Unbranded only means without a brand name, while generic can also mean typical of a group.
- bland
- Bland suggests dull flavor or style, and has no link to categories.
- standard
- Standard means usual or accepted, without the unoriginal feel of generic.
Opposites
Word family
- generically adverb
- in a general or unbranded way
- genericize verb
- to make a brand name common
- genus noun
- a biological group, related by origin
- general adjective
- broad, from the same root
Commonly confused: generic or general? generic or genetic?
generic vs general
General means common or broad, but generic more specifically means of a class or without brand.
generic vs genetic
Genetic relates to genes and inheritance. Generic relates to a class or lacking a brand.
Practice
The pharmacist said the ____ version of the medicine was just as effective and cheaper.
Choose one answer.
A generic drug is the unbranded version. Genetic relates to genes, and genuine means real, so neither fits.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “generic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.