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.
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Example Sentences
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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
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
Verb
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Witter is Desert Vintage’s longest-serving employee, save for its current owners, Roberto Cowan and Salima Boufelfel, and is in charge of categorizing and dating the rare and glorious treasures that come through the shop’s doors.
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The reforms also open up the possibility of categorizing gangs and drug cartels as terrorist groups.
Verb
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The British meteorological service has issued a rare red warning for extreme heat in the days forward, classifying the coming wave as a risk to life.
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The team began sorting through possible origins for this high-energy neutrino particle by acting like cosmic forensic detectives, classifying the detection of the particle as a crime scene and hunting for potential clues that point toward a culprit.
Verb
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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.
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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.
Verb
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The division of labor, as Han describes it, was less about separating tasks than about bringing complementary instincts to bear on the same material.
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Repair typically requires removing the seat and separating the upholstery to access the element.
Verb
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However, these documents are not sealed and did not contain personal identifying information on the victim.
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In the 1971 technothriller The Andromeda Strain, identifying an unknown microbe took a team of scientists and a secret state-of-the-art underground research facility.
Cite this Entry
“Pigeonholing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pigeonholing. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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