What does "generate" mean?
To bring into being; give rise to.
Generate
/ˈd͡ʒɛn.ɚ.eɪt/ adj, verb
adj, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To bring into being; give rise to.
- Grammar: generate is listed as adj, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: accomplish, accomplished, achieve, achieve language learning goals.
- Useful contrasts: abrogate, annihilate, annihilated.
- Usage evidence: Nuclear power is used to generate electricity.
How to use "generate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "generate" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "generate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "generate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "generate" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "generate" is acting as adj, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "accomplish" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "generate", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To bring into being; give rise to. transitive
"The discussion generated an uproar."
- 2 make (offspring) by reproduction wordnet
- 3 To produce as a result of a chemical or physical process. transitive
"Adding concentrated sulphuric acid to water generates heat."
- 4 produce, create wordnet
- 5 To procreate, beget. transitive
"They generated many offspring."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 produce (energy) wordnet
- 7 To form a figure from a curve or solid. transitive
"Rotating a circle generates a sphere."
- 8 give or supply wordnet
- 9 To appear or occur; be generated. intransitive
"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."
Adjective
- 1 Generated, not self-existent. not-comparable, rare
"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."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Nuclear power is used to generate electricity."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "generate"?
Common synonyms include: accomplish, accomplished, achieve, achieve language learning goals, achieves, affixing.
How do you use "generate" in a sentence?
Nuclear power is used to generate electricity.
How do you pronounce "generate"?
Pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ɚ.eɪt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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”)).
Etymology 2
Learned borrowing from Latin generātus, perfect passive participle of generō (“beget, procreate, produce”). See Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more.