généraliser

Généraliser is a French verb meaning to make general, to extend a statement or rule beyond its original scope, or to apply a principle to a wider set of cases. It can also be used reflexively as se généraliser, meaning to become common or widespread.

Originating from the Latin generalis, through Old French and French, the term shares a root with général and generality. In French spelling, it preserves the standard -er verb pattern, and its accents reflect syllable stress on the stem.

Conjugation follows the regular -er paradigm: present tense, je généralise; tu généralises; il généralise; nous généralisons; vous généralisez; ils généralisent. The past participle is généralisé. Other forms include j'ai généralisé (passé composé) and que je généralise (subjonctif). The verb also appears in the reflexive form se généraliser, meaning to become generalized or widespread.

Usage contexts: In logic and philosophy, universal generalization refers to inferring a general statement from particular cases under certain conditions. In statistics and social science, generalizability denotes how well findings apply to populations outside the sample. In mathematics, generalization refers to extending a theorem to broader classes. In everyday language, beware of overgeneralisation (généralisation abusive) when conclusions extend beyond what data supports or when exceptions undermine the general claim.