as in only
being the one or ones of a class with no other members
among history's greats Leonardo da Vinci is often considered sui generis—a man of such stupendous genius that the world may never see his like again
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Recent Examples of sui generis
The Luftwaffe had already obliterated Warsaw and Rotterdam, but Paris was sui generis.
—
Sam Roberts, Foreign Affairs, 2 June 2015
This uncomfortable family scenario could have played out any number of ways, from broad comedy to volatile drama, but Hong puts his own sui generis stamp on it.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
The alchemical match between director and DP remains one of the defining collaborations of Lynch’s career, with Elmes crystallizing Lynch’s nightmarish and entirely sui generis vision of the American underbelly in all those films.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 18 Jan. 2025
There is a good case to be made, therefore, that each of these country-level crises is sui generis.
—Shantayanan Devarajan, Foreign Affairs, 4 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for sui generis
Sam Roberts, Foreign Affairs, 2 June 2015
This uncomfortable family scenario could have played out any number of ways, from broad comedy to volatile drama, but Hong puts his own sui generis stamp on it.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
The alchemical match between director and DP remains one of the defining collaborations of Lynch’s career, with Elmes crystallizing Lynch’s nightmarish and entirely sui generis vision of the American underbelly in all those films.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 18 Jan. 2025
There is a good case to be made, therefore, that each of these country-level crises is sui generis.
—Shantayanan Devarajan, Foreign Affairs, 4 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for sui generis
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sui generis
Adjective
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That’s not the only option for protecting against quantum threats, though; Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Standard (ML-DSA) implementation is also in the works.—
Michael Muchmore,
PC Magazine,
20 May 2025
-
The only choice Hamas has is death or surrender, even if this comes at the cost of the remaining hostages and an even bigger humanitarian catastrophe to more than 2 million Palestinians in the enclave.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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Drinkwater didn't make one appearance in a Chelsea shirt last season, whilst Bakayoko spent the season in Italy on loan at AC Milan.—
SI.com,
SI.com,
3 Aug. 2019
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Decisions made by engineers today, in other words, will determine not how one car drives but how all cars drive.—
Johannes Himmelreich,
BostonGlobe.com,
30 Mar. 2018
Adjective
-
The lone goal could be almost directly attributed to it.—
Braidon Nourse,
Denver Post,
23 May 2025
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Brennan Johnson scored the lone goal in the 42nd minute after an incidental deflection off Manchester United’s Luke Shaw, sending Spurs to next season’s Champions League.—
Marcus D. Smith,
Sacbee.com,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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So when most kids were enrolling in third grade, Alisa was enrolled in community college, as a special student, in spring 2023.—
Wendy Grossman Kantor,
People.com,
22 May 2025
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Monday is when scheduled events at the cemetery include a concert by the United States Marine Band and the U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters, a wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and a parade of colors by Veterans’ organizations and remarks from special guests.—
John Bacon,
USA Today,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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This is not unique to Arizona, Famiglietti said, with similar signs of disappearing groundwater happening in the agriculture-heavy Central Valley in California.—
Ella Nilsen,
CNN Money,
31 May 2025
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But that physical training couldn’t prepare him for the unique psychological experience of reaching the top of the world--and then returning safely.—
Mark Joyella,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sui generis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sui%20generis. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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