generic

B2 · Upper Intermediate Medicine

adj. describing a product, like medicine, that does not have a famous brand name.

adj. referring to consumer goods, especially pharmaceuticals, that are not protected by a trademark and are sold under their chemical or common name.

“I usually buy the generic version of aspirin because it is much cheaper.”

“Once the patent expired, several manufacturers began producing generic versions of the cholesterol medication at a fraction of the original cost.”

C1 · Advanced Informal

adj. lacking any special or interesting qualities; very ordinary.

adj. lacking distinctive characteristics; perceived as unoriginal, derivative, or bland.

“The new apartment buildings all have a very generic look.”

“Critics dismissed the film as a generic action thriller that relied heavily on tired tropes and predictable plot twists.”

C1 · Advanced Computing Technical

adj. in computer programming, code that can work with many different types of data.

adj. referring to a style of computer programming in which algorithms are written in terms of types to-be-specified-later.

“The developer wrote a generic function to sort any list of items.”

“By using generic collections, the software remains flexible enough to handle various data structures without requiring redundant code for each type.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Medicine

n. a product that is sold without a brand name.

n. a product, particularly a drug, that is chemically equivalent to a brand-name original but sold under its common name.

“The pharmacist asked if I wanted the brand name or the generic.”

“The hospital policy encourages the prescription of generics to reduce overall healthcare costs for patients.”