universal

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“
Protestants object to Roman Catholics monopolizing the term, because the defined meaning of Catholic is "universal" and comes from the Greek word Katholikos.

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Definitions (66)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (11)

  1. adjective Of, relating to, extending to, or affecting the entire world or all within the world; worldwide: "This discovery of literature has as yet only partially penetrated the universal consciousness” (Ellen Key).
  2. adjective Including, relating to, or affecting all members of the class or group under consideration: the universal skepticism of philosophers. See Synonyms at general.
  3. adjective Applicable or common to all purposes, conditions, or situations: a universal remedy.
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Examples (50)

  • And maybe—just maybe—the laughing fates had missed one Now this," Hanan said, pulling a lumpy metal stick out of his toolbox, "is what's known as a universal wrench. —  Angelmass
  • Were this love universal, the word patriotism , in its specific sense, meaning such a love for one's country as makes its possessors ready and willing to take up arms in its defense, might be appropriately expunged from every national vocabulary. —  Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, the Martyr Missionary
  • This idea of a constant speed (about 3×106 meters / second) - is known as the universal speed limit. —  The Daily Galaxy: Great Discoveries Channel
  • Strenuous attempts by succeeding governments to commercialise it have done much damage, yet the caring ethos survives, testimony to what Richard Titmuss, one of the NHS's most influential champions, described as the universal human impulse to "help strangers". —  Integral Options Cafe
  • For progressives, it demonstrates the vast shortcomings of any health program-no matter how "universal" - that fails to defy Big Pharma and the insurance companies. —  MoJo Blogs and Articles
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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universal:   universals
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from French universel = Spanish Portuguese universal = Italian universale, from Latin universalis, of or belonging to all or to the whole, from universus, all together, whole, entire, collective, general: see universe. Hence colloq. abbreviation versal, varsal.
 

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/junɪˈvərsəl/
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