generally

UK/ˈd͡ʒɛn.ɹə.li/US/ˈd͡ʒɛn.ɚ.li/

adverbB1Common in everyday speech and writing · #2,758 of 15,258mostly written

Generally means in most cases, or speaking broadly. Generally speaking, generally available, it generally works.

It hedges, and that is its job — generally admits exceptions without listing them. Generally speaking is a set phrase that says the same thing twice, which is why editors cut it. In general is the phrase to use at the start of a sentence.

Definitions of generally

1adverbgenerallyIn most cases; speaking broadly.B1
“I generally walk to work, but I take the bus when it rains.”

generally is a hedge.

Where it comes from

General plus -ly, from Latin generalis, of a whole class, from genus, a kind.

Middle English
generally
English, today
generally

From Middle English generally, generalliche, equivalent to general + -ly.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

generally in the wild

Following the rise of Islam, which occurred in Arabia, the word's definition evolved to refer not only to Arabs, but to Muslims taken generally as well.
Saracen
Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income.
Income tax
Income from investments may be taxed at different (generally lower) rates than other types of income.
Income tax
A corporation generally cannot own its own shares.
Shareholder
Defensively, the point guard is generally responsible for guarding above the key on the perimeter.
Point guard

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

From Project Gutenberg, public domain. These sentences are from real books, shown to illustrate the word at work.

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