pigeonholing

verb

present participle of pigeonhole
as in categorizing
disapproving to unfairly think of or describe (someone or something) as belonging to only a certain category She likes to perform different types of music because she doesn't want to be pigeonholed.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pigeonholing Whether your perception of Gen Z is shaped by real-world interactions or two-dimensional headlines, pigeonholing a whole generation is reductive. — Alex Cooper, Fortune, 16 May 2026 McCurdy cautions against classifying Holiday as a blues singer and pigeonholing her into an age and culture. — Daniella Walsh, Oc Register, 21 Mar. 2026 The broader appeal and usefulness of the Dashaway eCT are just too dramatic to dedicate more time pigeonholing himself into a restrictive niche. — New Atlas, 28 Oct. 2025 Leibovitz has always resisted pigeonholing. — Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pigeonholing
  1. categorizing
  2. classifying
  3. relegating
  4. separating
  5. identifying
Verb
  • Currently, basic Medicare, the public health insurer of many adults over 65, does not cover grab bars, categorizing them like nonslip flooring or bathtub seats as convenience items rather than medical necessities.
    — Panashe Matemba-Mutasa, Mercury News, 13 July 2026
  • To streamline the private-public partnership and ensure the most rapid response to the biggest risks, Anthropic said the AI industry’s goal should be categorizing risks to ensure proper interventions both internally and from the government.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 1 July 2026
Definition of categorizing
Verb
  • This timeline refutes the notion that classifying obesity as a disease is driven by commercial interests by drugmakers.
    — Torie Bosch, STAT, 18 July 2026
  • In the most recent legislative session, Holscher introduced a bill to move marijuana from a Schedule I to Schedule III drug, classifying it among less addictive and harmful drugs.
    — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 9 July 2026
Definition of classifying
Verb
  • Perhaps its most red card-worthy offense was relegating Kuno Becker’s charismatic lead — the series’ only mainstay — to bit part, focusing instead on two new England internationals without an ounce of personality.
    — Jon O'Brien, Vulture, 26 June 2026
  • The new format will be familiar to fans of other sports like soccer, where some leagues feature differentiated divisions that promote and retain the best performing teams, while relegating those who don’t perform as well to lower circuits.
    — Dominic Chu, CNBC, 23 June 2026
Definition of relegating
Verb
  • One of the corrective actions involves modifying the engine startup sequence on the Super Heavy booster during its flip maneuver after separating from the Starship upper stage a few minutes after liftoff.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 17 July 2026
  • For Flight 13, after separating from Starship high above the Earth, the Super Heavy V3 would fly back to perform a pinpoint splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico—a landing that the booster failed to stick during Flight 12.
    — Lee Billings & Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 16 July 2026
Definition of separating
Verb
  • In the video, the worker wore an ID badge identifying her as a union member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
    — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 20 July 2026
  • This includes identifying what messages resonate, where deals stall and how buyers respond over time, while giving teams the context to adapt in real time.
    — Tom Burke, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
Definition of identifying

Browse Nearby Words

pigeonholes
pigeonholing
pigeons
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pigeonholing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pigeonholing. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of dog days

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All