as in concept
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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stereotype
Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 25 Feb. 2026
Counter to the stereotype of the auctioneer as dry, monotone and more often than not male, Fenet learned about 10 years into her two-decade-plus career that harnessing her affable personality and sense of humor would encourage donors to open their wallets wider.
—Scarlett Harris, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
Brittany Romanello, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
That absence increases the risk of caricature and stereotyping in AI image outputs of the Black community.
—Donnetta Monk, Essence, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stereotype
Noun
Only this time the interns are boring Gen Z stereotypes (obsessed with TikTok, too sensitive, too emotional, too self-important).
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 25 Feb. 2026
Counter to the stereotype of the auctioneer as dry, monotone and more often than not male, Fenet learned about 10 years into her two-decade-plus career that harnessing her affable personality and sense of humor would encourage donors to open their wallets wider.
—Scarlett Harris, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
Verb
Among many challenges, the next president of the church will navigate how to lead a global church from its American headquarters – a church that continues to be misunderstood and stereotyped, sometimes to the point of violence.
—Brittany Romanello, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
That absence increases the risk of caricature and stereotyping in AI image outputs of the Black community.
—Donnetta Monk, Essence, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stereotype
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stereotype
Noun
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Employees at one of these newer concepts, Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumplings, fold untold dozens in front of customers.—
Miguel Otárola,
Denver Post,
26 Feb. 2026
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But there are indeed upsides to living in New England during deep winter, one being the chance to amp up the hygge — the Danish term (pronounced hue-gah) for their concept of cultivating coziness.—
Gretta Monahan,
Boston Herald,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Where younger adults tend to become isolated after overusing smartphones, older adults tend to turn to phones after cognitive declines or being isolated from family and friends.—
Emily Kwong,
NPR,
25 Feb. 2026
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The perception problem While filler words can help conversations flow, research suggests overusing them may signal uncertainty or a shaky command of the material (or language in general).—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The B vitamin, while often touted as a hair growth miracle, has little scientific evidence to support this notion; that said, biotin has been shown to add hydration to dry hair, leaving it bouncy, shiny, and soft.—
Sophie Wirt,
InStyle,
26 Feb. 2026
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But unfortunately for expressway drivers everywhere, that notion didn’t last.—
Byron Hurd,
The Drive,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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His versions were full-blooded, with lush strings and reasonably large orchestras — and, purists alleged — vulgarizing distortions.—
BostonGlobe.com,
BostonGlobe.com,
28 Oct. 2019
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Ever since his rise to power, Trump has served as a vulgarizing agent.—
Leon Neyfakh,
Slate Magazine,
2 June 2017
Noun
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At six foot four inches and weighing 415 pounds, the contemporary Onosato is more in line with the average Westerner’s conception of a sumo wrestler.—
Joshua Hunt,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
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Another is a new conception of the public.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Everything can be worn together, never clashing, but also never boring.—
Caroline Hughes,
Travel + Leisure,
25 Feb. 2026
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There are egg salad sandwiches, and then there are egg salad sandwiches that refuse to be boring.—
Laura Mclively,
Mercury News,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Over the past decade, scholars have increasingly mapped postcolonial theory onto post-Soviet contexts, treating Russian imperial expansion as analogous to Western colonialism.—
Anel Rakhimzhanova,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2026
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This is not an abstract theory.—
Ajaypal Banga,
Twin Cities,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
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As recent immigrants, Jews played the game in their dense urban neighborhoods and helped popularize it with traveling teams up and down the East Coast.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Feb. 2026
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His father, Gene Van Dyke, helped popularize surfing in Northern California.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stereotype.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stereotype. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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