sui generis

Advancedzipf 2.19

Pronunciation

/ˌsuːi ˈdʒɛnərɪs/(SOO-ee JEN-uh-ris)

Part of speech

adjectiveformal

Chinese

独一无二的；自成一类的

Definition

Unique; in a class by itself.

Word family

  • (no common derivatives)

Collocations

  • truly sui generis
  • a sui generis talent
  • sui generis approach
  • something sui generis

Examples

  1. 1.Mozart was sui generis — no other composer has matched both his prolificacy and genius. (one of a kind)
  2. 2.The legal case was sui generis, with no precedent to guide the court's decision. (unique, without parallel)

Synonyms

  • unique/juːˈniːk/— one of a kind
  • incomparable/ɪnˈkɒmpərəbəl/— beyond comparison
  • unparalleled/ʌnˈpærəlɛld/— having no equal

Etymology

Latin phrase meaning "of its own kind" — sui (of itself) + generis (kind/class) — belonging to its own category