pigeonholing
1
7.4
- noun
- /ˈpɪdʒənˌhoʊlɪŋ/
:
encasillamiento
- The victim, of course, is the student, who soon finds out that this kind of pigeonholing doesn't go very far, because all too soon the teacher begins to talk about the exceptions and uses the masterpiece to prove them.
- defies pigeonholing
- ideological pigeonholing
- kind of pigeonholing
Examples
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Besides, such pigeonholing is obviously counter-entrepreneurial, as well as unlikely to produce the needed number of every kind of professional in a country as large as ours, where the economy is spread over so many states and involves so many international corporations.
Academic text (1997) -
But the tendency to lapse into comfortable, pigeonholing, unquestioning responses to categorical terms is stronger than we realize until we set about deliberately to catch ourselves doing it.
Fiction book (2001) -
But another had more negative observations that suggest the difficulties and challenges of moving beyond the 'minority' pigeonholing.
Academic text (2005) -
I moved to a completely different city because the rigid pigeonholing of the one I was raised in was too confining.
Blog text (10) -
Pigeonholing traders, whether it be by class of trader, asset class, or by delivery date, only creates more fragmentation.
Blog text (11) -
The complexities of lived religion in a vernacular world continue to give the lie to neat and tidy pigeonholing.
Academic text (2010) -
At the time, I thought the trend just demonstrated the dangers of pigeonholing fiction: not only was the claim of "American magical realist" inappropriate in many circumstances, but I found that its application sometimes made me less interested in a particular work.
Fiction book (1999) -
The teacher's approach to pigeonholing students based on their academic performance led to resentment among those who felt underestimated.
-
Critics argue that pigeonholing artists limits their creativity and forces them into narrow categories.
-
The study warned against the pigeonholing of individuals by their backgrounds, as it overlooks their unique experiences and capabilities.
Synonyms
43
3.4
A list that shows how something is divided into parts or groups
22
2.0
A way of arranging things into groups by shared features
20
2.5
Putting people and things together because they are similar or have the same purpose
19
3.7
The process of putting things into groups by shared features
8
4.4
Putting things, people, or ideas into groups because they are similar
5
3.2
An action that puts things into groups by type
3
6.0
Dividing something into parts or groups
1
8.0
Dividing something into separate parts to keep things organized
1
6.5
To move something into a different group
1
4.8
Putting items into groups that have the same features
How Restrictive
Surface Forms
Morphology
pigeonholing = pigeonhole (semi-transparent) = pigeon + hole + ing
Formally derived by adding -ing to the verb 'pigeonhole', but 'pigeonhole' itself is a metaphorical compound whose meaning 'to categorize' is not fully predictable from 'pigeon' + 'hole'.
Etymology
The word pigeonholing comes from the small boxes in old desks called pigeonholes, where people kept 'letters' and 'papers'. So to pigeonhole someone is like putting them into one tiny box, which is why pigeonholing means unfairly putting people or things into a simple, fixed category.