Definition of generic in English:

generic

adjective

1Characteristic of or relating to a class or group of things; not specific.
‘chèvre is a generic term for all goat's milk cheese’
- ‘One final point of emphasis: this evaluation should be done in terms of generic deployments, not specific ones.’
- ‘The interiors are neither universal nor generic but specific, tailored, and unpredictable.’
- ‘A lot of courses that I would be interested in aren't available in the summer, so I'm stuck with generic classes.’
- ‘It is written in broad and generic terms and, as a result, remains relatively unchanged for three to five years.’
- ‘The inclusion of context specific as well as generic aspects of methodological quality is sometimes sensible.’
- ‘This makes it relatively difficult to relate to the characters despite the universally generic themes of this genre.’
- ‘As long as an applicant achieved the requisite points on the generic characteristics cited above he or she would gain selection.’
- ‘Look through the pictures and pigeonhole each one into a generic class.’
- ‘Equally though, it can be based on a template or a model that is more generic in nature.’
- ‘"If I had a more generic name, I'd sign petitions with impunity, " he said.’
- ‘However, the law has historically held that generic terms cannot be trademarks.’
- ‘Although that premise is fairly generic, it still hits a few good notes.’
- ‘In truth, it's fairly generic for this sort of thing.’
- ‘Lurking inside that generic category was a simple set of steps that is the essence of design.’
- ‘Again, it's a pretty generic story, but it's consistently watchable.’
- ‘Initially he would have sort of linked the two together as generic processes of defence.’
- ‘The point I make here is that " architect " is a generic term.’
- ‘Trademarks must be enforced or they risk becoming generic, and not protected.’
- ‘Once a trademark has become generic, it must remain available for all to use.’
- ‘Carrying out similar duties each day at work makes the tasks generic, which interferes with your ability to recall.’
general, common, collective, non-specific, inclusive, all-inclusive, all-encompassing, broad, comprehensive, blanket, umbrella, sweeping, universal, cross-disciplinary, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary
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1. 1.1(of goods, especially medicinal drugs) having no brand name; not protected by a registered trademark.
  ‘Very few countries had fully integrated brand name or generic drug industries within their borders.’
  ‘His proposed amendment to protect cheaper, generic drugs has turned a big issue into a small one.’
  ‘Lumping brand-name and generic drugs together, drug prices rose 4 percent last year.’
  ‘This handy reference includes a combination of more than 300 most commonly used brand names and generic drug names.’
  ‘What this meant was that pharmacists could substitute a generic drug for a brand name.’
  ‘It is a generic drug, and it's a very good prophylactic medicine.’
  ‘But are all generic drugs truly equal to their brand name counterparts?’
  ‘The deal allows countries unable to manufacture medicines domestically to override international patents and import cheap generic drugs when they need to.’
  ‘This ignores the fact that these generic drugs are only better value if they are safe and effective.’
  ‘Another big challenge was to make sure that the quality of generic drugs matched that of branded medicines.’
  ‘He would like to see generic drugs - cheap copies of expensive medicines - made available.’
  ‘Often doctors and patients don't trust generic medications, preferring the brand name drugs.’
  ‘Aspirin and blockers are cheap generic drugs, but most thrombolytic agents are not.’
  ‘The Ethiopian Government says it's encouraging local manufacturers to produce cheap generic AIDS drugs.’
  ‘In principle this meant developing countries should have the right to have access to cheap generic drugs.’
  ‘Hence, if there are more patented medicines, there will be more generic medicines also.’
  ‘Generic drugmakers have raced to copy the drugs more cheaply, especially in Brazil and India.’
  ‘Like other big-name pharmaceutical companies, the company's profit margins are being pressured by generic drugmakers.’
  ‘There has been considerable talk about the threat of competition from the smaller biotechnology outfits and generic drugmakers.’
  ‘The generic manufacturers are simply leaches - hugely profitable ones - on that investment.’
  unbranded, untrademarked, non-proprietary
  View synonyms
2. 1.2derogatory Lacking imagination or individuality; predictable and unoriginal.
  ‘generic dance-floor fillers’
  ‘the plot of the film isn't just generic, it's insultingly stupid’
  ‘The story is pretty generic and the action scenes vary in quality, some were crisp and exiting, others were muddled, digitally-enhanced blurs.’
  ‘The music throughout is nonvocal, so there's little distraction, and is fairly generic dance-style music that most viewers should find inoffensive.’
  ‘Musically, they are actually fairly good, in a generic sort of way.’
  ‘The plotline is exactly what it needs to be and not a single word of dialogue is ever wasted, so even though the story and setting is totally generic on one front, it never actually becomes tedious or boring.’
  ‘Unlike in many anime series, these characters don't feel generic or cut from the same overused cloth.’
  ‘The plot of the film isn't just generic, it's insultingly stupid.’
  ‘Silence is the rule for our heroes, and that means a bit of extra claustrophobia to scenes that would otherwise be totally generic.’
  ‘The arrangements and production are totally generic.’
  ‘Bad actors play characters made up of tired clichés, stumbling through generic dialogue.’
  ‘We love it when dull generic thrillers get given vaguely technological titles to try and make them sound more interesting and get it wrong.’
2Biology
Relating to a genus.
- ‘Most of his Famennian species are probably valid taxa, but their generic assignments need to be re-evaluated.’
- ‘Sprinkleocystis ektopios is monotypic therefore generic and species diagnoses are redundant.’
- ‘He thought that most of the future work of the committee would be at the level about the species, at the generic and subgeneric levels.’
- ‘They reported not only interlocked branches but also fused branches in a generic and species level taxa.’
- ‘Thus, each new imitator brings its own unique traits to the generic family.’

noun

A consumer product having no brand name or registered trademark.
‘substituting generics for brand-name drugs’
- ‘Doctors often continue to prescribe brand-name drugs long after generics have appeared on the market.’
- ‘The company was clearly dipping into both the brand name and generics markets until the competition got serious.’
- ‘Like brand-name drugs, generics must be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and have an excellent safety record.’
- ‘As a result, they may not be equivalent to brand-name products or as safe as generics purchased from a legitimate site in the United States.’
- ‘It will also make people seriously consider whether they must have brand name drugs instead of generics.’
- ‘Sometimes ordering brand name drugs instead of generics does make a difference.’
- ‘As soon as the patent on an expensive brand-name drug expires, the generics come onto the market.’
- ‘Exclusion of generics will help consolidate the brand-name cartel and result in substantial waste of fund resources.’
- ‘Many, it contends, are little more than dubious efforts by brand-name companies looking to prevent competition from generics.’
- ‘The generics can produce a price decrease of 30 per cent.’
- ‘Today's story is the rise of branded generics, where the retailer creates and promotes a brand name for its line of generics.’
- ‘When a patent expires, the generics step in and sell analog versions of the brand name product for a fraction of the price.’
- ‘This is because generics aren't exactly identical to the original drug.’
- ‘The drug companies do take advantage of these things to forestall cheaper generics.’
- ‘Over 50 per cent of its revenues come from the U.S., on the back of cheaper generics.’
- ‘There are no plans to provide cheap generics to Russia or China where the epidemic is gathering pace.’
- ‘India has once again scored in the US generics market.’
- ‘But should they forgo profits in order to develop the Brazilian generics industry?’
- ‘Now, India's scrappy generics industry is hoping for a bigger conquest.’
- ‘But donations of branded drugs actually cost donor countries four times more than buying generics.’