dichotomization
- noun
- /daɪˌkɒtəmaɪˈzeɪʃən/
- The dichotomization of individuals into introverts and extroverts can oversimplify people's personalities.
Examples
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In the Turkish case, this dichotomization most obviously acts to polarize the political field, creating a good "us" vs. a bad "them."
Academic text (2008) -
The New Deal social policies that privileged male workers and identified mothers as "unemployables" because of their home responsibilities contributed to a false dichotomization of poor women's experience.
Academic text (1995) -
The dichotomization between past and present is alien to the storytelling tradition.
Academic text (1997) -
We are not dealing with an overthrow of the universal, but with an alternative to the standard dichotomization of universal and particular.
Academic text (1993) -
The position taken here is that such dichotomization in the representation of human behavior is necessarily distorting, for though they are analytically distinguishable, politics and ritual are inseparable in practice.
Academic text (1992) -
In environmental discussions, the dichotomization of conservation efforts as either effective or ineffective can limit potential solutions.
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The dichotomization of society into rich and poor often ignores the complexities of middle-class experiences.
Synonyms
A division in a group that makes two opposing parts
A clear difference between two opposite ideas, for example good and bad
To divide something into two equal parts
A division of something into two separate parts
The division of a group into two opposing sides
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
dichotomization = dichotomize (transparent) = dichotom + ize + ation
The noun is formed by the regular and highly productive suffixation of '-ation' to the verb 'dichotomize'.
Etymology
Dichotomization comes from Greek parts dicho- 'two' and -tom- 'cut', the same 'cut' you see in atom and anatomy. So, dichotomization means 'cutting into two' and refers to making two separate or opposite groups or categories.