universal — English Dictionary

Adjective

1. Of or pertaining to the universe.

2. Common to all members of a group or class.

   Examples

   In Logic, the letter A is used as a symbol for the universal affirmative proposition in the general form "all x is y."

   I had been planning every day through these years toward a universal car.

   More examples (2)

   Eventually, the railway opened on Monday, December 14, 1896, with a universal fare of 1d. collected at the turnstiles, and conditions were immediately chaotic, as many passengers travelled round and round, and refused to leave the cars.

   Sutton SignWriting is the universal and complete solution for written sign language, ISO 15924 script code "Sgnw".

3. Common to all society; worldwide, global.

   Examples

   She achieved universal fame.

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   [John] Dryden's univerſal genius, his firmly eſtablished reputation, and the glory his memory muſt always reflect upon the nation that gave him birth, make us ardently wiſh for a more accurate life of him than any which has hitherto appeared: […]

   First there is no universal sizing system for carving tools. Seemingly every brand and country of manufacture uses a different system.

4. Unlimited; vast; infinite.

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Playwrights have recognized the usefulness of this archetype and used him in many dramatic contexts, for the Trickster's freedom from determination gives him a universal fascination.

5. Useful for many purposes; all-purpose.

   Examples

   universal wrench

Noun

1. A characteristic or property that particular things have in common.

   Examples

   More examples (3)

   When we examine common words, we find that, broadly speaking, proper names stand for particulars, while other substantives, adjectives, prepositions, and verbs stand for universals.

   We might also distinguish those expressions which are used to refer to individuals or particulars from those which are used to refer to what philosophers have called universals: e.g., to distinguish such expressions as "Everest" and "this chair" from "the number three", "the color red" and "drunkenness".

   Empiricism was similarly a response to this loss of universals—a radically contingent world with no underlying order must constantly be studied and tested—and made God himself unnecessary: divine spirit and human spirit were alien enough to each other that they could function without taking each other into account.

Adjective

1. of worldwide scope or applicability

   Synonyms

   cosmopolitanecumenicaloecumenicalgeneralworldwideworld-wide

   Examples

   an issue of cosmopolitan import

   universal experience

2. applicable to or common to all members of a group or set

   Examples

   the play opened to universal acclaim

   rap enjoys universal appeal among teenage boys

3. adapted to various purposes, sizes, forms, operations

   Examples

   universal wrench

   universal chuck

   More examples (1)

   universal screwdriver

Noun

1. (linguistics) a grammatical rule (or other linguistic feature) that is found in all languages

   Synonyms

   linguistic universal

   Broader terms

   rulelinguistic rule

2. (logic) a proposition that asserts something of all members of a class

   Synonyms

   universal proposition

   Antonyms

   particular

   Broader terms

   proposition

3. a behavioral convention or pattern characteristic of all members of a particular culture or of all human beings

   Broader terms

   conventionnormalpatternruleformula

   Examples

   some form of religion seems to be a human universal

4. coupling that connects two rotating shafts allowing freedom of movement in all directions

   Synonyms

   universal joint

   Broader terms

   couplingcoupler

   Examples

   in motor vehicles a universal joint allows the driveshaft to move up and down as the vehicle passes over bumps