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
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 researchers, led by Arne Güllich of RPTU Kaiserlautern-Landau in Germany, noted that prodigies often specialized in a single discipline, pigeonholing themselves in a particular field early in life.
—Jake Angelo, Fortune, 9 Jan. 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
Daniella Walsh, Oc Register, 21 Mar. 2026
The researchers, led by Arne Güllich of RPTU Kaiserlautern-Landau in Germany, noted that prodigies often specialized in a single discipline, pigeonholing themselves in a particular field early in life.
—Jake Angelo, Fortune, 9 Jan. 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
-
This means recording transactions, categorizing expenses and calculating totals yourself, without linking your bank accounts to an app.—
Nick Perry,
USA Today,
11 May 2026
-
McCarrell said about half of the archive’s materials were well-organized ahead of the impending closure announcement, but categorizing what remains has been largely left up to him.—
Olivia Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
There's an emerging market for concierge and longevity clinics, where physicians are offering unregulated peptides by classifying them as supplements rather than as drugs to enhance specific functions rather than treat disease.—
Teresa Maalouf,
Verywell Health,
12 May 2026
-
But as other reality-TV subgenres similarly flourished over the two-plus decades since, the Emmys responded by micro-classifying the shows and pushing most of them to the Creative Arts ceremony.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
10 May 2026
Verb
-
Clearly, the longer the conflict continues, the greater its impact will be, not just on the travel industry directly, but also because a global supply chain shortage will drive up the cost of living, relegating travel to a nice-to-have rather than a given this summer.—
Alex Ledsom,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2026
-
Lomax, after becoming chairman of the department of English, retaliates, assigning Stoner grueling teaching schedules and relegating him to teaching repetitive freshman composition and sophomore survey courses.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
Next, Butac arranges a bunch of the beans on two trays and roasts them for a specific amount of time before separating the shells from the beans and then running the bean fragments, also known as nibs, through a mill.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
10 May 2026
-
Still, robotics has a long history of inflated expectations, making many executives cautious about separating breakthrough potential from hype.—
Dr. Jonathan Reichental,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2026
Verb
-
Given the sheer number of stocks offering dividends, identifying the right ones is not always straightforward.—
TipRanks.com Staff,
CNBC,
10 May 2026
-
This week’s hack into information from almost 9,000 schools included personally identifying data.—
Susan Svrluga,
Washington Post,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pigeonholing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pigeonholing. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
