Definition

Verb: 1. To make something universal: To extend the application, understanding, or relevance of something (like an idea, principle, or experience) so that it applies to everyone, everywhere, or in all cases. It involves generalizing a specific concept to a broad, all-encompassing level.

Usage

The verb "universalise" (also spelled "universalize") is used to describe the process of taking something specific and making it applicable or relevant on a global, general, or fundamental human level. It is often used in academic, philosophical, sociological, and literary contexts.

Examples

• Verb:
  • The goal of the movement was to universalise the principles of human rights.
  • She argued that we should not universalise our own cultural experiences when studying other societies.
  • The film's power lies in its ability to universalise a very personal story of grief.

Advanced Usage

• "To universalise an experience": To frame a personal or specific experience in terms that make it relatable or understandable to all people, highlighting its common human elements.
  • Great art often seeks to universalise the human experience.
• Critique of Universalising: In social sciences, a common critical stance is to question attempts to universalise concepts that may be culturally or historically specific.
  • The author warns against the tendency to universalise Western models of development.

Variants and Related Words

• Universalisation (n): The process or result of making something universal.
  • The universalisation of primary education is a key UN goal.
• Universal (adj): Of, affecting, or done by all people or things in the world or in a particular group; applicable to all cases.
  • The search for universal truths.
• Generalise (v): To make a broad or general statement based on specific instances. (Note: "Generalise" can be more statistical or observational, while "universalise" often implies making something a fundamental principle or global norm).

Synonyms

• Generalise: To infer a general principle from particular examples.
• Globalise: To develop or be developed so as to make possible international influence or operation. (Often used for economic systems, while "universalise" is used for ideas).
• Standardise: To cause something to conform to a standard.

Antonyms

• Particularise: To treat individually or in detail; to specify.
• Localise: To restrict something to a particular place or area.
• Relativise: To consider or present something as relative or dependent on something else, rather than absolute or universal.

Verb

1. make universal
   • This author's stories universalize old themes