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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.

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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
  • Zentist helps office staff stay on top of every claim by automatically categorizing insurance denials and adjustments.
    — Nia Bowers, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Those guidelines are much more attractive to taxpayers than those categorizing their income as gambling.
    — Ananya Chetia, CNBC, 18 July 2026
Definition of categorizing
Verb
  • When a government committee chaired by Oppenheimer recommended strongly against the development of the H-bomb, the Atomic Energy Commission buried the report by classifying it as secret.
    — Scott W. Stern, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Some need only light intelligence—converting structured output into natural language, organizing OCR results or classifying simple requests.
    — Nitin Gupta, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of classifying
Verb
  • The ballot measure requires a motorist’s driving record, years behind the wheel and annual miles driven to be the primary factors in setting rates, relegating residency to a relatively minor role — which advocates said is only a matter of fairness.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • With Belton’s regression and weaknesses in pass protection relegating him to the backup right tackle, the starting right guard spot seems to be a competition between Jacob Monk (currently leading) and Burton.
    — Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of relegating
Verb
  • Paul Turner of Birmingham is separating himself from all City Section receivers with his big-play catching ability.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026
  • France is a traditionally Catholic country, but adheres to a strict form of secularism in public life based on a 1905 law separating church and state.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of separating
Verb
  • The collaboration will focus on identifying potential customers, evaluating sites and developing commercial projects around nT-Tao’s Compact Fusion System.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2026
  • When circumstances permit, a factual report, relevant identifying information, and any unanswered requests can be documented afterward.
    — Matthew Kayser, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of identifying

Browse Nearby Words

pigeonholes
pigeonholing
pigeons
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Cite this Entry

“Pigeonholing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pigeonholing. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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