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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Recent Examples of pigeonholing
Leibovitz has always resisted pigeonholing.
—
Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pigeonholing
Verb
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In a society that relies so heavily on categorizing people into a gender binary, targeting a young man’s masculinity can be a particularly painful and isolating experience.—
Ashleigh N. DeLuca,
Parents,
4 Sep. 2025
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One was based on hard-coding logical rules for categorizing inputs into symbols and then for manipulating those symbols to arrive at outputs.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Delays in classifying more illnesses hurt people, Tom O'Connor said.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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The court forbade companies from classifying workers as independent contractors except in narrow circumstances.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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To make room, the 2025–26 campaign will promote two teams from the second tier while relegating just one through a new playoff system.—
Asli Pelit,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
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Cadillac does, however, win back a few points for keeping some physical controls around instead of relegating everything to the touchscreen, even if some of the buttons look a bit chintzy.—
Bradley Iger,
Robb Report,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The train then collided with the trailer, separating it from the cab, breaking it into multiple parts and rolling it.—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
16 Sep. 2025
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New Jersey is creating a stand-alone Department of Veterans Affairs, separating it from military operations in a move aimed at improving oversight of services for veterans and their families.—
Aliss Higham,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This drives both day-to-day operations, like smarter procurement, as well as long-term strategy, like identifying and reducing emissions at the source.—
Sophia Mendelsohn,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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It was built in 1954 by mathematician and organist Leland Sprinkle, who spent years identifying which stalactites would produce the right notes.—
Alexandra Emanuelli,
Southern Living,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pigeonholing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pigeonholing. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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