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Definition of overgeneralization

overgeneralization

/ˌoʊvɚˌdʒɛnɚələˈzeɪʃən/
(UK: overgeneralisation)
o · ver · gen · er · al · i · za · tion
Plural:overgeneralizations
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overgeneralization Lexical Profile

• noun

1

The act or process of drawing a broad conclusion or making a sweeping statement based on insufficient evidence, or an instance of such a statement.

Example

"Claiming that all teenagers are irresponsible based on a few news stories is a classic overgeneralization."

2

In linguistics and language acquisition, the application of a regular grammatical rule to words that are irregular exceptions (such as saying 'goed' instead of 'went').

Example

"When young children say 'foots' instead of 'feet', they are demonstrating a natural stage of grammatical overgeneralization."

Synonyms
View all synonyms for overgeneralization
Antonyms
View all antonyms for overgeneralization

• Rhymes for overgeneralization

• Nearby Words

overfund
overfussy
overgarment
overgeneralization
overgeneralize
overgenerosity
overgenerous

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Overgeneralization. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/overgeneralization
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