Dictionary

universal en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˌjunəˈvɜɹs(ə)l/ (General-American)
• (General-American) audio
• /ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsl̩/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English universal, from Old French universal (modern French universel), from Latin ūniversālis, equivalent to universe + -al.

Meanings

1. Of or pertaining to the universe.
2. Common to all members of a group or class.
   • I had been planning every day through these years toward a universal car. 1922, Henry Ford, Samuel Crowther, chapter 4, in My Life and Work, Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Company, Inc., →OCLC:
   • Eventually, the railway opened on Monday, December 14, 1896, with a universal fare of 1d. collected at the turnstiles, and conditions were immediately chaotic, as many passengers travelled round and round, and refused to leave the cars. 1955 January, Charles E. Lee, “The Glasgow Underground Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 24:
   • Sutton SignWriting is the universal and complete solution for written sign language, ISO 15924 script code "Sgnw". 2022 January 30, Steve Slevinski, “Formal SignWriting”, in IETF, archived from the original on 30 Apr 2024:
   • In Logic, the letter A is used as a symbol for the universal affirmative proposition in the general form "all x is y." 1911, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica:
3. Common to all society; worldwide, global.
   • She achieved universal fame.
   • First there is no universal sizing system for carving tools. Seemingly every brand and country of manufacture uses a different system. 2026 August 14, Shea Alexander, “Basic Relief Carving Techniques”, in Popular Woodworking, volume 290, number 4, page 27:
   • [John] Dryden's univerſal genius, his firmly eſtablished reputation, and the glory his memory muſt always reflect upon the nation that gave him birth, make us ardently wiſh for a more accurate life of him than any which has hitherto appeared: […] a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The Life of John Dryden, Esq.”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume I, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, →OCLC, page xiii:
4. Unlimited; vast; infinite.
   • Playwrights have recognized the usefulness of this archetype and used him in many dramatic contexts, for the Trickster's freedom from determination gives him a universal fascination. 1983, Wendy Griswold, “The Devil's Techniques: Cultural Legitimation and Social Change”, in American Sociological Review, volume 48, number 5, page 670a of 668–680:
5. Useful for many purposes; all-purpose.
   • universal wrench

Forms

Antonyms

nonuniversal

Deriveds

universal shunt · universal banking · areoversal · universalistic · universal masking · interuniversal · varioversal · universal jurisdiction · universal instrument · universal bank · universal veil · universal opportunity · universal value · universalism · universal basic income · inter-universal Teichmüller theory · universal quantifier · universal set · abstract universal · universal donor · universal solvent · Universalian · universal lever · universal packager · universal mind · universal algebra · superuniversal · universal sorter · universally · universal grammar · universal joint · universal design for instruction · universal design · universalist · universal grinder · universal chuck · universal suffrage · universal product code · universal property · universal morphism · universal cabinet key · universalize · Universalglot · Saybolt universal second · universal language · universal credit · universal logic gate · last universal ancestor · universalness · universanimous · angloversal · subuniversal · last universal common ancestor · universal arithmetic · universal Turing machine · quasiuniversal · universalise

Relateds

university · universality · global · general · universe

Synonyms

general (common to all members of a group or class) · multi-purpose (useful for many purposes) · general-purpose (useful for many purposes)

Translations (141)

ru вселе́нский (of or pertaining to the universe) · bg космически (cosmic, unlimited) · de kosmisch (cosmic, unlimited) · cmn 萬能 /万能 (useful for many purposes) · pl uniwersalny (common to all members of a group or class) · th ครอบจักรวาล (cosmic, unlimited) · fi universaali (of or pertaining to the universe) · es universal (of or pertaining to the universe) · pt universal (useful for many purposes) · cmn 全體的 /全体的 (common to all members of a group or class) · nl universeel (common to all society, world-wide) · eo universala (common to all society, world-wide) · cmn 全世界的 (common to all society, world-wide) · ms universal (common to all society, world-wide) · pt universal (of or pertaining to the universe) · grc καθολικός (common to all members of a group or class) · de All- (useful for many purposes) · de universell (common to all society, world-wide) · nl algemeen (common to all members of a group or class) · cmn 無限 /无限 (cosmic, unlimited) · el παγκόσμιος (common to all members of a group or class) · ru всесторо́нний (common to all society, world-wide) · es universal (common to all members of a group or class) · fr universel (common to all members of a group or class) · yi אַלוועלטלעך (common to all society, world-wide) · ru всео́бщий (common to all members of a group or class) · ml വിശ്വ (of or pertaining to the universe) · th อเนกประสงค์ (useful for many purposes) · eo universa (of or pertaining to the universe) · ja 普遍的 (common to all members of a group or class) · cmn 普遍 (common to all members of a group or class) · fi yleismaailmallinen (of or pertaining to the universe) · pt universal (common to all members of a group or class) · es universal (useful for many purposes) · sv universell (of or pertaining to the universe) · pl kosmiczny (of or pertaining to the universe) · ru всео́бщий (common to all society, world-wide) · ca universal (common to all members of a group or class) · fa جهانی (of or pertaining to the universe) · ru косми́ческий (of or pertaining to the universe) · ja 宇宙の (of or pertaining to the universe) · de weltweit (common to all society, world-wide) · fi ääretön (cosmic, unlimited) · bg всео́бщ (common to all society, world-wide) · cmn 萬用 /万用 (useful for many purposes) · fr universel (common to all society, world-wide) · de universell (useful for many purposes) · fi yleis- (useful for many purposes) · fr universel (of or pertaining to the universe) · hu univerzális (useful for many purposes) · hy համընդհանուր (common to all society, world-wide) · de Allgemein- (common to all members of a group or class) · io universala (of or pertaining to the universe) · ko 보편적 (common to all members of a group or class) · es universal (cosmic, unlimited) · tr evrensel (common to all members of a group or class) · fi yleiskäyttöinen (useful for many purposes) · grc καθολικός (common to all society, world-wide) · es universal (common to all society, world-wide) · cmn 宇宙的 (of or pertaining to the universe) · th สากล (common to all society, world-wide) · nl universeel (useful for many purposes) · gl universal (of or pertaining to the universe) · ko 전세계적 (common to all society, world-wide) · be агу́льны (common to all members of a group or class) · oc universal (of or pertaining to the universe) · sv omfattande (useful for many purposes) · bg универсален (useful for many purposes) · fi kosminen (of or pertaining to the universe) · ru вселе́нский (cosmic, unlimited) · be агу́льны (common to all society, world-wide) · gl universal (common to all society, world-wide) · bg вселенски (of or pertaining to the universe) · la ūniversālis (common to all society, world-wide) · fi yleinen (common to all members of a group or class) · ko 우주(宇宙)의 (of or pertaining to the universe) · nl wereldwijd (common to all society, world-wide) · el παγκόσμιος (common to all society, world-wide) · pl ogólny (common to all members of a group or class) · ht inivèsèl (common to all society, world-wide) · fi yleis- (common to all members of a group or class) · ko 전지구적 (common to all society, world-wide) · ko 세계적 (common to all society, world-wide) · th สากล (common to all members of a group or class) · tr evrensel (common to all society, world-wide) · de universell (common to all members of a group or class) · ko 범용 (useful for many purposes) · ru всесторо́нний (useful for many purposes) · cs univerzální (useful for many purposes) · ko 무한(無限)한 (cosmic, unlimited) · de Universal- (useful for many purposes) · pt universal (common to all society, world-wide) · ga comhchoiteann (common to all members of a group or class) · ckb گەردوونی (of or pertaining to the universe) · uk універса́льний (useful for many purposes) · hy համամարդկային (common to all society, world-wide) · bg универсален (common to all members of a group or class) · ca universal (of or pertaining to the universe) · ru глоба́льный (common to all society, world-wide) · fi yleispätevä (common to all members of a group or class) · grc οἰκουμενῐκός (common to all society, world-wide) · th จักรวาล (of or pertaining to the universe) · pl powszechny (common to all members of a group or class) · ja 無限 (cosmic, unlimited) · fi rajaton (cosmic, unlimited) · fi maailmanlaajuinen (common to all society, world-wide) · la ūniversālis (common to all members of a group or class) · sl vesoljski (of or pertaining to the universe) · ga uilechoiteann (common to all society, world-wide) · ru всеми́рный (common to all society, world-wide) · cmn 無窮 /无穷 (cosmic, unlimited) · el παγκόσμιος (of or pertaining to the universe) · grc οἰκουμενῐκός (common to all members of a group or class) · is algildur (common to all society, world-wide) · hy համամարդկային (common to all members of a group or class) · tl sansinukbin (of or pertaining to the universe) · ru универса́льный (useful for many purposes) · id universal (of or pertaining to the universe) · he עולמי (common to all society, world-wide) · ko 우주적 (of or pertaining to the universe) · pl uniwersalny (useful for many purposes) · de allgemein (common to all members of a group or class) · de Welt- (common to all society, world-wide) · cs všestranný (useful for many purposes) · ja 万能 (useful for many purposes) · tr çok amaçlı (useful for many purposes) · sv universell (common to all society, world-wide) · bg всеми́рен (of or pertaining to the universe) · sl univerzalen (useful for many purposes) · el παγκόσμιος (useful for many purposes) · tr evrensel (useful for many purposes) · ru косми́ческий (cosmic, unlimited) · ms sejagat (common to all society, world-wide) · sl univerzalen (common to all members of a group or class) · is alhliða (useful for many purposes) · sk všeľudský (common to all society, world-wide) · pt universal (cosmic, unlimited) · ja 世界的 (common to all society, world-wide) · ru общечелове́ческий (common to all society, world-wide) · ml ലോക (of or pertaining to the universe) · sl univerzalen (common to all society, world-wide)

universal en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌjunəˈvɜɹs(ə)l/ (General-American)
• (General-American) audio
• /ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsl̩/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English universal, from Old French universal (modern French universel), from Latin ūniversālis, equivalent to universe + -al.

Meanings

1. A characteristic or property that particular things have in common.
   • Empiricism was similarly a response to this loss of universals—a radically contingent world with no underlying order must constantly be studied and tested—and made God himself unnecessary: divine spirit and human spirit were alien enough to each other that they could function without taking each other into account. 2021, Meghan O'Gieblyn, chapter 11, in God, Human, Animal, Machine […] , →ISBN:
   • When we examine common words, we find that, broadly speaking, proper names stand for particulars, while other substantives, adjectives, prepositions, and verbs stand for universals. 1912, Bertrand Russel, The Problems of Philosophy, Chapter 9:
   • We might also distinguish those expressions which are used to refer to individuals or particulars from those which are used to refer to what philosophers have called universals: e.g., to distinguish such expressions as "Everest" and "this chair" from "the number three", "the color red" and "drunkenness". 1970, John R. Searle, Speech acts:

Forms

Translations (5)

de Universalie (A property that particular things have in common.) · fi yleiskäsite (A property that particular things have in common.) · fi universaali (A property that particular things have in common.) · ar كُلِّيَّة (A property that particular things have in common.) · ru всео́бщее (A property that particular things have in common.)