general
gene·ral/ˈd͡ʒɛn.(ə.)ɹəl/adjective, noun, verb
general is spelled G-E-N-E-R-A-L, 2 syllables: gene·ral. The wrong spelling people search most is genral: about 180 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 109 of all searches for the word. General is an adjective meaning “Including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole, etc.; common to all…”.
How many letters and syllables are in general?
| Letters | 7: G-E-N-E-R-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: gene·ral |
| In writing | 295 times per million words; the 322nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, genral, about 180 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell general?
General is spelled G-E-N-E-R-A-L. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 109 of the searches for general in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is general?
General appears 295 times per million words in written English, the 322nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce general?
- US /ˈd͡ʒɛn.(ə.)ɹəl/
- Australia /ˈd͡ʒen.(ə.)ɹəl/
General has 2 syllables, split gene·ral in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-general.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with general?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as general (/ɛnɹəl/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: enlarge, gleaner.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of general
- more general comparative
- most general superlative
- gen.
- gen
- genl
- gen'l
- generals plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- generaling US, participle, present
- generalling UK, participle, present
- generaled US, participle, past
- generalled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does general mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Including or involving every part or member of a given or implied entity, whole, etc.; common to all, universal.
- 2
Applied to a person (as a postmodifier or a normal preceding adjective) to indicate supreme rank, in civil or military titles, and later in other terms; pre-eminent.
- 3
Prevalent or widespread among a given class or area; common, usual.
- 4
Not limited in use or application; applicable across a broad range.
- 5
Giving or consisting of only the most important aspects of something, ignoring minor details; indefinite.
- 6
Not of a specific class; miscellaneous.
general goods
noun
- 1
The holder of a senior military title, originally designating the commander of an army and now a specific rank falling under field marshal (in the British army) and below general of the army or general of the air force in the US army and air forces.
General Eisenhower was the first SACEUR.
- 2
A great strategist or tactician.
Hannibal was one of the greatest generals of the ancient world.
- 3
archaicA general fact or proposition; a generality.
We have dealt with the generals; now let us turn to the particulars.
- 4
The head of certain religious orders, especially Dominicans or Jesuits.
- 5
The equivalent of a king in Chinese chess, the xiangqi piece that is confined to the palace, moves orthogonally one point at a time, and whose loss decides the game.
- 6
obsoleteSynonym of admiral, a senior naval title, a great naval strategist or tactician.
- 7
colloquialShort for general servant, a maid-of-all-work, a servant able to be assigned to any task in a household.
- 8
Short for general election, a regular election for most offices in a region or country.
Sure, this candidate is the favorite in the primary among the party faithful, but how is he going to do in the general?
verb
- 1
To lead (soldiers) as a general.
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of general in its various senses.
You're going to have to tell that to the president yourself, General.
- 2
The title used by a military general, flag rank officer of the military
adverb
- 1
obsoleteIn a general or collective manner or sense; in most cases; upon the whole.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate general?
Wiktionary records 3 abbreviations of general: Gen., gen'l, gen..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
General in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | général, communal , en chef , universal , général d'armée |
| German | allgemein, generell , General |
| Portuguese | geral , general , generalizado |
| Spanish | general , serasquier |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does general come from?
From Middle English general, in turn from Anglo-Norman general, generall, Middle French general, and their source, Latin generālis, from genus (“class, kind”) + -ālis (“-al”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).