To make a statement or conclusion that applies broadly to many cases based on limited examples, or to become more general or widespread.
From French 'généraliser' (16th century), from Medieval Latin 'generalis'. The '-ise' suffix indicates the verbal form meaning 'to make' or 'to become'.
When you generalise, you're essentially pattern-matching—the same mental process that lets scientists discover laws of physics also lets us unfairly judge entire groups of people, which is why critical thinking about when generalisation is fair is crucial.
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