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Definition of universal adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

universal

adjective
 
/ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsl/
 
/ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːrsl/
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  1. done by or involving all the people in the world or in a particular group
    • Such problems are a universal feature of old age.
    • Agreement on this issue is almost universal.
    • universal suffrage (= the right of all the people in a country to vote)
    Extra Examples
    • There was universal disgust at what he had done.
    • The increase in crime has been a universal phenomenon.
    • These practices remain universal among the islanders.
    • The party wanted to introduce a universal healthcare system.
    • A representative assembly is a near universal feature of modern democracies.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • seem
    • become
    adverb
    • truly
    • by no means
    • far from
    preposition
    • among
    • in
    See full entry
  2. true or right at all times and in all places
    • universal facts about human nature
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • seem
    • become
    adverb
    • truly
    • by no means
    • far from
    preposition
    • among
    • in
    See full entry
  3. Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin universalis, from universus ‘combined into one, whole’, from uni- ‘one’ + versus ‘turned’ (past participle of vertere).
See universal in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee universal in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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