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Generous vs Generic - What's the difference?

generous | generic |

As adjectives the difference between generous and generic

is that generous is (obsolete) of noble birth while generic is very comprehensive; pertaining or appropriate to large classes or groups as opposed to specific.

As a noun generic is

a product sold under a generic name.

generous

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • (obsolete) Of noble birth.
  • Noble in behaviour or actions; principled, not petty; kind, magnanimous.
  • Thank you for your generous words.
  • Willing to give and share unsparingly; showing a readiness to give more (especially money) than is expected or needed.
  • She's been extremely generous with her winnings.
  • Large, more than ample, copious.
  • Synonyms

    * See also

    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