as in notions
an idea or statement about all of the members of a group or all the instances of a situation
the noble savage was a stereotype that appealed to 18th-century intellectuals, who viewed European civilization as decadent and corrupt
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in overuses
to use so much as to make less appealing
Movies have stereotyped the domineering mother-in-law ad nauseam.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stereotypes
Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026
The class is breaking stereotypes about water aerobics.
—Nicky Zizaza, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026
In one afternoon, the prevailing stereotypes of underachieving Black boys and absentee Black fathers were irrelevant.
—Walter Fields, Baltimore Sun, 10 Jan. 2026
Having all but officially secured a spot in the Winter Olympics, they were being asked their perspectives on a history steeped in stereotypes and even objectification.
—Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026
Jordan's role on All My Children was originally played by the late Chadwick Boseman, who was fired after just one week on set after criticizing Reggie's character arc for playing into racial stereotypes (Jordan and Boseman would later go on to star together in 2018's Black Panther).
—Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Jan. 2026
Boseman was allegedly let go after voicing his concerns that Reggie’s character relied too much on racial stereotypes.
—Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026
Similarly, the video Som da Maloka, 2024, by Raphael Escobar overturns negative stereotypes about the shelterless men of color living in Cracolândia, a highly impoverished and heavily policed area of downtown São Paulo ravaged by crack cocaine and other drugs.
—Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
Yeah, so don’t start with stereotypes, don’t start with assumptions.
—Harvard Business Review, 30 Dec. 2025
Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2025
These words have different meanings in the context of AAVE, some say, and using them in a way that appropriates or stereotypes certain people groups strips away the importance of the original definitions.
—Mia Thurow, jsonline.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Noun
The image of silverhewn anchors stuck, and Diodorus’ story emphazises so many of the classic Phoenician/Carthaginian stereotypes told by their later enemies.
—Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026
The class is breaking stereotypes about water aerobics.
—Nicky Zizaza, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026
In one afternoon, the prevailing stereotypes of underachieving Black boys and absentee Black fathers were irrelevant.
—Walter Fields, Baltimore Sun, 10 Jan. 2026
Having all but officially secured a spot in the Winter Olympics, they were being asked their perspectives on a history steeped in stereotypes and even objectification.
—Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026
Jordan's role on All My Children was originally played by the late Chadwick Boseman, who was fired after just one week on set after criticizing Reggie's character arc for playing into racial stereotypes (Jordan and Boseman would later go on to star together in 2018's Black Panther).
—Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Jan. 2026
Boseman was allegedly let go after voicing his concerns that Reggie’s character relied too much on racial stereotypes.
—Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026
Similarly, the video Som da Maloka, 2024, by Raphael Escobar overturns negative stereotypes about the shelterless men of color living in Cracolândia, a highly impoverished and heavily policed area of downtown São Paulo ravaged by crack cocaine and other drugs.
—Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2026
Yeah, so don’t start with stereotypes, don’t start with assumptions.
—Harvard Business Review, 30 Dec. 2025
Verb
But while working mom and trad wife stereotypes reign online and in popular culture, many moms fall somewhere in between those two tropes.
—Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2025
These words have different meanings in the context of AAVE, some say, and using them in a way that appropriates or stereotypes certain people groups strips away the importance of the original definitions.
—Mia Thurow, jsonline.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stereotypes
Noun
-
Our legal and historical notions of agency have long depended on physical embodiment—the sanctity of a single, identifiable body.—
Dan Turello,
New Yorker,
10 Jan. 2026
-
But a more recent line of research has pushed back against these notions, using statistical analysis to suggest that the apparent variations in response are just the result of measurement error and day-to-day biological variability.—
Outside,
Outside,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
That’s important, since many people make the mistake—both in the gym and daily life—of shrugging their shoulders up to their ears, which overuses the upper traps and elevates the scapula.—
Jenny McCoy,
SELF,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Gone were the days of elaborate concepts, old-timey characters, and aspirations toward modern classical composition.—
Sam Sodomsky,
Pitchfork,
11 Jan. 2026
-
The concepts making their debut range from Kwame Onwuachi’s take on Caribbean cuisine in Las Vegas to Francesco Martucci bringing his pizza prowess to fine dining in Miami—and everything in between, encompassing a wide variety of flavors, heritages, and more.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The emerald ash borer is an invasive beetle native to Asia that bores into wood and kills ash trees by eating tissues under the bark.—
Caitlin Looby,
jsonline.com,
29 Oct. 2025
-
But the patient, grinding work of peace implementation typically bores him.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Farrell and Kidman are outstanding, even as Lanthimos' ritualistic plotting and direction keep them hemmed into their characters' rigid conceptions.—
Dennis Perkins,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
-
So this was quite a departure from traditional conceptions of the subject.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The denial exhausts the city’s legal options for the 2022 ballot measure, known as Measure C.—
Jennifer Van Grove,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Ella has shades of Holly Hunter's intense, workaholic producer Jane from Brooks' 1987 masterpiece Broadcast News, the smartest person in any room who both exhausts and enchants everyone around her.—
Esther Zuckerman,
Time,
12 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stereotypes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stereotypes. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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