Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use general in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, noun, verb

General means including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole, etc.; common to all, universal. Example: “General Eisenhower was the first SACEUR.”

Examples of general by meaning

adjectiveIncluding or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole, etc.; common to all, universal.

  • Undoubtedly the age of the Antonines was much better than any later age until the Renaissance, from the point of view of the general happiness.1946, Bertrand Russell, “Stoicism”, in History of Western Philosophy, book 1, part 3
  • One advantage of having profitable companies in Britain is that they pay large sums in corporate tax into the Exchequer, which in theory at least is used for the general good.2006 October 15, Ruth Sutherland, “Invite public to the private equity party”, in The Observer

adjectivePrevalent or widespread among a given class or area; common, usual.

  • The general opinion on Baz Luhrmann's overstuffed epic Australia seems to be that it throws in everything but the kitchen sink, and then tosses that in too, just to be sure.2008 December 20, John Patterson, “Home movies”, in The Guardian

adjectiveNot limited in use or application; applicable across a broad range.

  • Venizelos went to Athens from Paris early last January in response to a general invitation from the Greek populace.1924 March 17, Time
  • Already in the primary school work is conducted for the purpose of equipping the pupils with those elements of general knowledge which are closely related to the military preparation of future warriors.1947 October 20, “Russian Catechism”, in Time
  • Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a general term indicating a rapid heartbeat (tachycardia) coming from the top chambers of the heart - in essence, above (supra) the lower chamber (ventricular).2009, Douglas P. Zipes, Saturday Evening Post, volume 281, number 1, page 20

adjectiveGiving or consisting of only the most important aspects of something, ignoring minor details; indefinite.

  • The Princess broke in with some casual remark and once more the conversation became general.1941, W Somerset Maugham, Up at the Villa, Vintage, published 2004, page 24
  • The quick answer is that the 1893 Exposition was simply so important — "the greatest event in the history of the country since the Civil War," as Harper's put it that October — but that feels too general.2006 July 16, Kevin Nance, “Ghosts of the White City”, in Chicago Sun-Times
  • Given the scarcity of relevant historical detail in the New Testament, we are left with only a general outline about Joseph.2008, Robert P. Maloney, “The Quiet Carpenter”, in America, volume 199, number 19, page 18

nounThe holder of a senior military title, originally designating the commander of an army and now a specific rank falling...

  • General Eisenhower was the first SACEUR.

nounA great strategist or tactician.

  • Hannibal was one of the greatest generals of the ancient world.

nounA general fact or proposition; a generality.

  • We have dealt with the generals; now let us turn to the particulars.

More sentences with general

  • In unary and k-adic notation in general, zero is the empty string.From the entry zero
  • After his fall from the emperor's favor, the general was posted to a remote outpost.From the entry remote
  • The general opted for a swift retreat because he saw his troops were vastly outnumbered.From the entry retreat
  • The general refused to order his soldiers to retreat, despite being vastly outnumbered.From the entry retreat
  • The general ordered the colonel to hold his position at all costs.From the entry hold
  • The information made its way up the chain of command to the general.From the entry up
  • As a community liaison, I work to make sure the general public knows about our organization's work.From the entry liaison
  • A decapitation strike carried out by drone killed many of the country's senior generals.From the entry decapitation
  • The general sent a deputation to the enemy to propose a truce.From the entry deputation
  • Good evening everyone and welcome to our 34th annual general meeting.From the entry good evening
  • George Washington, the first president of the United States, and commanding general during its war of independence.From the entry washington
  • The eighth century BC saw a marked increase in the general wealth of Cyprus.From the entry marked
  • After the anesthetist administered the general anesthetic the patient was unconscious.From the entry unconscious
  • The army general led a successful rebellion and became president of the country.From the entry rebellion
  • English doesn't have a singulative number in general, but many uncountable nouns have usual singulative constructions.From the entry singulative
  • The general concern about industrial stagnation inspired an overhaul of the patent system.From the entry stagnation
  • The headless army blundered along after the death of their general, accomplishing nothing.From the entry headless
  • "Deploy two units of infantry along the enemy's flank," the general ordered.From the entry deploy
  • Though the new law is popular among the general public, it is hated in the boardroom.From the entry boardroom
  • The sentence was unsupported by an inline citation or general bibliographic reference source notes.From the entry unsupported
  • Any underspends will revert to the general fund at the end of the year.From the entry underspend
  • The sleaze-ridden government was forced to resign and a general election was announced.From the entry sleaze-ridden
  • To sympathisers, though, all of his crimes came under the general heading of misdemeanors.From the entry come under
  • Self-focus, self-preoccupation, and the like do not automatically spell an enlargement of one's general self-knowledge.From the entry self-focus
  • The debt of a general partnership is a joint and several liability of each general partner.From the entry joint and several
  • He went VFR direct to the general, and without having gotten his facts straight.From the entry VFR direct
  • The general took dinner at seven o'clock.From the entry take
  • This is one of several laws derived from his general theory expounded in the Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.From the entry law

Meaning of general

  1. adjective Including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole, etc.; common to all, universal.
  2. adjective Applied to a person (as a postmodifier or a normal preceding adjective) to indicate supreme rank, in civil or military titles, and later in other terms; pre-eminent.
  3. adjective Prevalent or widespread among a given class or area; common, usual.

Full definition of general

Questions about general in a sentence

How do you use general in a sentence?
General is used as an adjective, noun and verb. For example: “General Eisenhower was the first SACEUR.”
What is a short sentence with general?
“General Eisenhower was the first SACEUR.”
What does general mean?
General means including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole, etc.; common to all, universal.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: general (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use general in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/general. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.