a sweeping statement — overgeneralisation
collocationC1IELTS 7+neutraloccasional
a comment or claim that is too general and does not consider all the facts or exceptions; an overgeneralisation.
Say it like a native
Textbook That is far too general a claim and it ignores the exceptions.
Native That's a sweeping statement.
The idiom names the fault — a too-broad claim that ignores exceptions.
Pattern: make/issue a sweeping statement | that's a sweeping statement
In use
- Saying that all politicians are dishonest is a sweeping statement.communication
- I try to avoid making sweeping statements in discussions, because it's important to recognise that there are always exceptions.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ Don't do sweeping statements about people.
✓ Don't make sweeping statements about people.
You MAKE a statement, never 'do'.
Common collocations
make a sweeping statement/generalisation— make, generalisation, broad, about
Don't confuse it
Unlike a simple 'statement', which can be any comment or claim, 'a sweeping statement' criticises the claim for being overgeneralised and lacking nuance.