to pigeonhole
4
7.6
- verb
- /ˈpɪdʒənˌhoʊl/
:
encasillar
- By trying to pigeonhole him into a single role, the director overlooked his versatility as an actor.
Live sports production can be extraordinarily, you know, you can be pigeonholed.
- Live sports production can be extraordinarily, you know, you can be pigeonholed.
- And I think other folks are going to have to start doing that too, because you end up being pigeonholed into certain wage wages here.
- And it's I I pigeonholed myself into this gothy corner, I guess.
Examples
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I mean, it really bothers me when people try to pigeonhole me like that.
-
Committees and subcommittees also may pigeonhole legislation that is central to their party's program, further thwarting the prospects for party government.
Academic text (1992) -
Sorry, but your attempt to pigeonhole me has failed, and I doubt that I am alone in this.
Blog text (23) -
America, we are all Americans, and quit trying to pigeonhole everyone.
Blog text (32) -
I think it's a minor mistake to pigeonhole players into positions by size.
Blog text (23) -
And there's a reason people try to pigeonhole us like this.
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What I want therapists to know is not to pigeonhole children into one category.
Blog text (13) -
Of course, the Lexile Framework should never be used to restrict or pigeonhole a reader.
Academic text (2014) -
I know it's tempting to pigeonhole entire races or entire religions, but in reality it doesn't make much sense.
Blog text (34) -
Sullivan's weathering during her presidency reveals much about prevalent attitudes toward female leadership—and about how we pigeonhole and punish women with power.
Academic text (2017)
Synonyms
110
3.4
To put people or things into groups based on shared features
59
3.5
To put things or people into groups by what they have in common
19
2.9
To put people or things into groups by shared features
14
4.4
To give someone a simple label or description that may not fit
11
4.8
To treat someone as if a simple, fixed idea about their group is true
1
8.7
Unfairly judge a whole group because of one person's actions
1
7.2
Treat someone as only one type and ignore their other skills
Placed into groups with the same features
Antonyms
How Narrow
Surface Forms
Morphology
pigeonhole = pigeonhole (semi-transparent) = pigeon + hole
This sense is built by metaphorical extension from the noun 'pigeonhole', but the jump from a physical slot to rigid categorization is not fully predictable for learners.
Etymology
Pigeonhole meaning to classify unfairly comes from the idea of putting things into fixed little boxes like pigeon 'holes', so to pigeonhole a person is to judge them too narrowly and not see the whole person.