overgeneralizationn.
/ˌəʊvəˌdʒɛn(ə)rəlʌɪˈzeɪʃn/, /ˌəʊvəˌdʒɛn(ə)rl̩ʌɪˈzeɪʃn/, U.S. /ˈˌoʊvərˌdʒɛn(ə)rələˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/, /ˈˌoʊvərˌdʒɛn(ə)rəˌlaɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/ The action of overgeneralize v.; an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > misinterpretation > [noun] > wrong conclusion
misconclusion1609
overgeneralization1851
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > making general > generalizing from inadequate evidence
overgeneralization1851
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > lack of reasoning, illogicality > [noun] > false conclusion
non sequitur1564
inconsequence1605
misconclusion1609
inconsequencya1641
inconsequent1643
non-consequence1649
inconsequentiality1832
overgeneralization1851
1851 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 12 ii. 452 Some who..appropriated his discoveries, over-generalised his over-generalisations.
1878 Mind 3 356 It is a great over-generalisation to say that what is negative is useless.
1910 Amer. Hist. Rev. 16 163 A tendency to trite comment and over-generalization.
1947 J. G. Weightman On Lang. & Writing 87 In trying to think with precision we oscillate between two extremes, over-generalization and over-particularization.
1970 S. L. Barraclough in I. L. Horowitz Masses in Lat. Amer. iv. 97 To avoid falling into the more obvious errors of overgeneralization about Latin America as a whole.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1851