Meaning & use
universal
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Shared by or true for everyone or everything, with no exceptions.
Grammar: Usually describes ideas, rights or experiences: a universal truth.
Patterns
- universal to something
Hunger is a universal human experience.
Music seems to be a universal part of human culture.
There is no universal rule for raising children.
adjectivebefore a noun
Covering or working for all people, places or uses in a system.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: universal healthcare.
Patterns
- universal access
The country offers universal healthcare.
This is a universal remote that works with any television.
The charger has universal compatibility.
adjectivebefore a nounformal
Relating to the whole world or the whole universe.
Grammar: Used in older and scientific contexts: universal law.
Patterns
- universal law
Gravity is a universal force.
Scientists search for universal laws of nature.
The poem speaks of universal harmony.
nouncountabletechnical
A feature or idea that is found in all cultures or all languages.
Grammar: Usually plural: linguistic universals.
Patterns
- language universals
Linguists study universals found in every language.
Smiling may be one of the human universals.
The anthropologist listed several cultural universals.
Word forms
| plural | universals |
|---|
Common combinations
- universal truth
- It is a universal truth that people need food.
- universal healthcare
- Many countries provide universal healthcare.
- universal appeal
- The story has universal appeal.
- universal language
- Music is often called a universal language.
- universal acclaim
- The film was met with universal acclaim.
- universal remote
- I bought a universal remote for the living room.
Synonyms and how they differ
- worldwide
- Worldwide stresses geographical spread across the globe, while universal means applying to everyone and everything.
- general
- General allows exceptions, so it is weaker than universal.
- widespread
- Widespread means common over a large area but not everywhere, unlike universal.
- global
- Global is about the whole world as a place, while universal is about shared or all-inclusive qualities.
Opposites
Word family
- universe noun
- everything that exists
- universality noun
- the quality of applying to all
- universally adverb
- by everyone or everywhere
- universalize verb
- to make universal
- university noun
- a school of higher education, from the same root
Commonly confused: universal or general? universal or university?
universal vs general
General allows exceptions, whereas universal does not.
universal vs university
A university is a place of study, while universal is an adjective meaning applying to all.
Practice
Which word describes a belief held by every person in every society, without exception?
Choose one answer.
Universal means applying to all without exception. Common and typical allow exceptions, and regional is limited to one area.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “universal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.