Dictionary

generate en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• [ˈdʑɛnəɹɛ(ː)t] Ottawa Valley
• (California) audio
• /ˈd͡ʒen.ə.ɹæɪt/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
• /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ɚ.eɪt/ (Canada, General-American)
• /ˈd͡ʒɛnəreːt/ (Canada)
• /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ə.ɹeɪt/ (Canada, General-American)
• /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ə.ɹeɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• [ˈd͡ʒɛn.ɹeɪt] (Received-Pronunciation)
• [ˈd͡ʒen.ɹæɪt] (Australia, New-Zealand)
• [ˈd͡ʒɛn.ɹeɪt] (Canada, General-American)

Etymology

From Latin generō (“beget, procreate, produce”) + -ate (verb-forming suffix), from genus (“a kind, race, family”, gener- in compounds) + -ō; see genus. Compare Italian generare, French générer (and its older (and now obsolete) English cognate from Middle French, gender (“engender, breed, copulate”)).

Meanings

1. (transitive) To bring into being; give rise to.
   • The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them[…]is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies.[…]current tax rules make it easy for all sorts of firms to generate[…]“stateless income”: profit subject to tax in a jurisdiction that is neither the location of the factors of production that generate the income nor where the parent firm is domiciled. 2013 June 22, “T time”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 68:
   • The Ecclesiastical Commission was generated by Sir Robert Peel and bore the marks of Peel’s personality; bureaucratic, capable and cold. 1966, Owen Chadwick, The Victorian Church, volume 1, page 126:
   • “If I can generate a book in a day, and you need six months to write a book, who’s going to win the race?” she said. 2026 February 8, Alexandra Alter, quoting Coral Hart, “The New Fabio Is Claude”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • In the last 20 minutes Athletic began to generate the sort of pressure of which they are capable, but by then it was far too late: the game had begun to slip away from them as early as the seventh minute. 2012 May 9, Jonathan Wilson, “Europa League: Radamel Falcao's Atlético Madrid rout Athletic Bilbao”, in the Guardian:
   • The discussion generated an uproar.
2. (transitive) To produce as a result of a chemical or physical process.
   • Adding concentrated sulphuric acid to water generates heat.
3. (transitive) To procreate, beget.
   • They generated many offspring.
4. (transitive) To form a figure from a curve or solid.
   • Rotating a circle generates a sphere.
5. (intransitive) To appear or occur; be generated.
   • Mrs. Fennel, seeing the steam begin to generate on the countenances of her guests, crossed over and touched the fiddler's elbow and put her hand on the serpent's mouth. 1883, Thomas Hardy, The Three Strangers:

Forms

Antonyms

degenerate (antonym(s) of “bring into being”) · extinguish (antonym(s) of “bring into being”) · ungenerate (antonym(s) of “bring into being”) · obliterate (antonym(s) of “bring into being”) · abrogate (antonym(s) of “bring into being”) · erase (antonym(s) of “produce as a result of a chemical or physical process”) · annihilate (antonym(s) of “bring into being”)

Coordinates

foster (bring into being) · extend (bring into being) · augment (bring into being) · grow (bring into being)

Deriveds

regenerate · autogenerate · generatable · overgenerate · pregenerate · generatability · cogenerate · self-generating · congenerate · undergenerate · misgenerate

Relateds

generable · generative · general · generic · generation · genus

Synonyms

bring about (bring into being) · spawn (bring into being) · create (bring into being) · produce (bring into being) · engender (bring into being) · make (bring into being)

Translations (118)

fr générer (bring into being) · ka გენერირება (mathematics: form a figure) · gv gien (bring into being) · ro crea (mathematics: form a figure) · fi herättää (bring into being) · pl wygenerować (bring into being) · fi kehittää (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · vi gây ra (bring into being) · es generar (bring into being) · pl wydać (procreate, beget) · ja 熾す (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · pl stworzyć (bring into being) · pl stwarzać (bring into being) · la pariō (bring into being) · ro genera (bring into being) · pl generować (bring into being) · gl xerar (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · sv generera (bring into being) · es procrear (procreate, beget) · ja 発生させる (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · it formare (mathematics: form a figure) · sk vygenerovať (bring into being) · pl wydawać (procreate, beget) · hi उत्पादन करना (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · fr générer (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · bg създа́вам (bring into being) · pt gerar (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · ast xenerar (bring into being) · vi sinh ra (procreate, beget) · ro genera (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · fr engendrer (procreate, beget) · vi đẻ ra (procreate, beget) · vi gây nên (bring into being) · ka წარმოქმნა (mathematics: form a figure) · sk vygenerovať (mathematics: form a figure) · fi synnyttää (bring into being) · sk generovať (bring into being) · pl płodzić (procreate, beget) · ro genera (mathematics: form a figure) · bg генерирам (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · gl criar (bring into being) · vi phát ra (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · sv skapa (bring into being) · ro a da naștere (procreate, beget) · ru производи́ть (bring into being) · hu létrehoz (bring into being) · sk generovať (mathematics: form a figure) · gv gien (procreate, beget) · bg пораждам (procreate, beget) · vi phát (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · ru производи́ть на свет (procreate, beget) · mi huri hiko (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · bg образувам (mathematics: form a figure) · ro produce (mathematics: form a figure) · bg пораждам (bring into being) · ca generar (bring into being) · it generare (mathematics: form a figure) · ka წარმოქმნა (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · es producir (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · be генеры́раваць (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · sk generovať (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · pl spłodzić (procreate, beget) · it generare (procreate, beget) · gl xerar (procreate, beget) · ka გენერირება (bring into being) · ja 生み出す (bring into being) · es generar (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · ja 生む (bring into being) · ja 発生させる (bring into being) · pl generować (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · ru образо́вывать (mathematics: form a figure) · gv gien (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · gv gien (mathematics: form a figure) · an chenerar (bring into being) · ru порожда́ть (procreate, beget) · ro zămisli (procreate, beget) · ro procrea (procreate, beget) · ru генери́ровать (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · ro reproduce (procreate, beget) · vi xuất ra (mathematics: form a figure) · ja 生み出す (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · hu teremt (bring into being) · pl wygenerować (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · ja 生む (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · ru генерировать (bring into being) · de generieren (bring into being) · mi mahi hiko (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · grc φύω (bring into being) · eo generi (bring into being) · vi đẻ ra (bring into being) · pl wywołać (bring into being) · ka წარმოქმნა (bring into being) · ka გენერირება (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · fi tuottaa (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · it generare (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · fr engendrer (mathematics: form a figure) · gl xerar (bring into being) · hi उपजाना (bring into being) · pl wytworzyć (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · ru порожда́ть (bring into being) · it generare (bring into being) · bho उपजावल (bring into being) · pl tworzyć (bring into being) · vi sinh ra (bring into being) · it procreare (procreate, beget) · pt procriar (procreate, beget) · fi tehdä (procreate, beget) · fi synnyttää (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · ja 生成する (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · az törətmək (bring into being) · uk генерува́ти (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) · ka წარმოება (bring into being) · ka შექმნა (bring into being) · ka შექმნა (mathematics: form a figure) · pt gerar (bring into being) · zza afernen (bring into being) · ja 生成する (bring into being) · pl wytwarzać (produce as a result of a chemical or physical process)

wikipedia: English · wikipedia: Middle French

generate en · ADJ · etymology 2

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin generātus, perfect passive participle of generō (“beget, procreate, produce”). See Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more.

Meanings

1. (not-comparable, rare) Generated, not self-existent.
   • But neither is one time generated in another; for if the preſent be generated in the future, the future muſt be present; and if in the paſt, the paſt. The ſame may be ſaid of other times; therefore one time is not generated in another. Now if time be neither generated in itſelf, nor one time in another, it is not generate at all. But that it is not ingenerate, we ſhewed also. Therefore ſeeing it is neither generate nor ingenerate, it is not at all; for every Beeing muſt either be generate or ingenerate. 1659–1660, Thomas Stanley, “[A Summary of Scepticism.] Chap[ter] XVII. Of Time.”, in The History of Philosophy, the Third and Last Volume, […], volume III, London: […] Humphrey Moseley, and Thomas Dring, […], →OCLC, 4th part (Containing the Sceptick Sect), Book II (Of Physick), page 87:
   • It poses the thorny problem of the status of the Logos. Is he generate or ingenerate?.. Justin replies that he is generate—but in a special sense. 1965, R. A. Norris, God & World in Early Chrisian Theology, volume ii. 67:

Antonyms

ingenerate