What does "genericization" mean?

The process of becoming generic; an instance of it.

How do you pronounce "genericization"?

Pronounced //dʒəˌnɛɹɪsaɪˈzeɪʃən//.

Common synonyms include: abstraction, despecification, generalization, genericide, trademark erosion, trademark erosion.

//dʒəˌnɛɹɪsaɪˈzeɪʃən// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The process of becoming generic; an instance of it. countable, uncountable
2
With respect to a trademark, the act or process of becoming so widely identified as a reference for a type of product as to cease representing a particular brand or manufacturer of that type of product. uncountable
"Successful companies have strategies to protect their trademarks and fend off the creep of genericization, Mr. Taylor said."
3
An instance of this act or process; a generic name thus created. countable

"Successful companies have strategies to protect their trademarks and fend off the creep of genericization, Mr. Taylor said."

From generic + -ization.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.