How to Use generally in a Sentence

generally

adverb
  • It generally takes about a month for the shipment to arrive.
  • I had a generally good day.
  • This town is generally regarded as a good place to raise kids.
  • When stocks are up, bonds are generally down.
  • He talked generally about his plans.
  • But in the past, politicians generally stayed out of the fray.
    — Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN, 21 July 2023
  • Box fans generally have a large square box that sits on the ground and large blades push air around the room.
    — Megan Boettcher, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Sep. 2022
  • Tiny homes are small dwellings that are generally 400 square feet or less of floor area.
    — Sarah Lapidus, The Arizona Republic, 22 July 2023
  • The care of all cut Christmas trees is generally the same regardless of the species.
    — Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 10 Dec. 2022
  • Statewide, the coast will generally avoid the worst of this heat wave, with L.A. beaches remaining in the 70s and 80s this week.
    — Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2024
  • People generally have to foot the bill for getting out of harm’s way on their own.
    — Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 3 Oct. 2022
  • Ground coffee generally has a shelf life of less than a week.
    — Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 29 Sep. 2022
  • Your peak earning years are not generally the best time to start a Roth account, because of the tax bite.
    — Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 3 Aug. 2024
  • The gay men were breezy, bossy, confident; the straight men were generally hapless and abashed.
    — Mark Harris Rf. Alvarez, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024
  • Matt, one of the things that’s so striking about your film is the candor of the troops, who are generally pretty reserved.
    — Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Dec. 2022
  • Mean jokes don’t generally play well around a deathbed.
    — Christopher Maag, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2024
  • The show takes a lot of liberties with the book characters and plots but generally stays true to the central theme of each book.
    — Kari Sonde, TIME, 21 May 2024
  • Before the Trump-era 2017 tax law, the company generally had to deduct the cost of that asset from its taxes over the course of many years.
    — Julie Zauzmer Weil, Washington Post, 23 Dec. 2022
  • And the person using the device is generally none the wiser of how important this part of the test is.
    — New Atlas, 6 Sep. 2024
  • The person who isn’t climbing generally throws on a heavy jacket and warm gloves.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2024
  • Whereas the school has generally seen about 20 new students a week for the past couple of years, that rate has now doubled.
    — Krista Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 25 Jan. 2023
  • The state generally has to decide whether to go forward with a new trial or to drop the charges, according to the motion.
    — Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun, 18 Sep. 2022
  • But accusers generally have to be 52 years old or younger to sue alleged abusers.
    — Mike Damiano, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Jan. 2023
  • And that team is very good, generally — a side capable of throwing a five-on-five fastball that very few teams in the NHL are able to hit.
    — Thomas Drance, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
  • Prison guards are generally not well paid, and they are often bribed to assist in the smuggling or simply to look the other way.
    — Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2023
  • Guy Fleury Changing the name of a boat is generally considered bad luck.
    — Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 13 Oct. 2023
  • Keep in Mind Though generally very well-made, the fabric on one side didn’t feel as high-quality.
    — Kathleen Felton, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Sep. 2023
  • When a team passes the ball -- and LSU is good in the passing lanes -- and works it until someone is open, good things generally happen.
    — Wally Hall, arkansasonline.com, 4 Feb. 2024
  • And the phrases in the singalong chorus generally start on the second beat of a measure, leading to the downbeat of the next bar; thus, they’re built from musical pickups.
    — Tom Roland, Billboard, 12 Mar. 2025
  • Most workers in the service industry are paid less than the minimum wage—which is generally low to begin with—and workers rely on tips to boost their wages.
    — Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'generally.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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