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Broad vs Generic - What's the difference?

broad | generic |

As adjectives the difference between broad and generic

is that broad is wide in extent or scope while generic is very comprehensive; pertaining or appropriate to large classes or groups as opposed to specific.

As nouns the difference between broad and generic

is that broad is a prostitute, a woman of loose morals while generic is a product sold under a generic name.

broad

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Wide in extent or scope.
  • three feet broad
    the broad expanse of ocean
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=2 , passage=Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.}}
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 19, author=Josh Halliday, work=the Guardian
  • , title= Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised? , passage=Julia Farrington, head of arts at Index on Censorship, argues that extra powers to ban violent videos online will "end up too broad and open to misapplication, which would damage freedom of expression".}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-28, author=(Joris Luyendijk)
  • , volume=189, issue=3, page=21, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Our banks are out of control , passage=Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […].  Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. […]  But the scandals kept coming, and so we entered stage three – what therapists call "bargaining". A broad section of the political class now recognises the need for change but remains unable to see the necessity of a fundamental overhaul. Instead it offers fixes and patches.}}
  • Extended, in the sense of diffused; open; clear; full.
  • * Bishop Porteus
  • broad and open day
  • Having a large measure of any thing or quality; not limited; not restrained.
  • * John Locke
  • a broad mixture of falsehood
  • Comprehensive; liberal; enlarged.
  • * D. Daggett
  • The words in the Constitution are broad enough to include the case.
  • * E. Everett
  • in a broad , statesmanlike, and masterly way
  • Plain; evident.
  • a broad hint
  • Free; unrestrained; unconfined.
  • * Shakespeare
  • as broad and general as the casing air
  • (dated) Gross; coarse; indelicate.
  • a broad''' compliment; a '''broad''' joke; '''broad humour
  • (of an accent) Strongly regional.
  • (Gaelic languages) Velarized, i.e. not palatalized.
  • Antonyms

    * * (Regarding body width) * (Not palatalized)

    Derived terms

    * breadth * broaden * broad across the beam * broad in the beam * broadscale * broad strokes * broadsword * broad church * broadcloth * broad agreement

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (dated) A prostitute, a woman of loose morals.
  • (US) A woman or girl.
  • Who was that broad I saw you with?
  • (UK) A shallow lake, one of a number of bodies of water in eastern Norfolk and Suffolk.
  • A lathe tool for turning down the insides and bottoms of cylinders.
  • (Knight)

    Synonyms

    * See also * See also * See also

    See also

    *

    Anagrams

    * * * ----

    generic

    Alternative forms

    * generick

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Very comprehensive; pertaining or appropriate to large classes or groups as opposed to specific.
  • :* "...the essence is that such self-describing poets describe what is in them, but not peculiar to them, – what is generic , not what is special and individual." — Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
  • Lacking in precision, often in an evasive fashion; vague; imprecise.
  • (of a product or drug) Not having a brand name.
  • (biology, not comparable) Of or relating to a taxonomic genus.
  • (grammar) Specifying neither masculine nor feminine; epicene.
  • Words like salesperson and firefighter are generic .
  • (computing) (Of program code) Written so as to operate on any data type, the type required being passed as a parameter.
  • (geometry, of a point) Having coordinates that are algebraically independent over the base field.
  • Synonyms

    * (comprehensive) general * (lacking a brand) unbranded

    Antonyms

    * (comprehensive) specific, proprietary * (lacking a brand) non-generic, proprietary, branded

    Derived terms

    * genericity * genericness

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A product sold under a generic name
  • A wine that is a blend of several wines, or made from a blend of several grape varieties
  • (grammar) A term that specifies neither male nor female.
  • * 1998 , Jacqueline A. Dienemann, Nursing administration: managing patient care