Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to typecast

to typecast

3 6.8
Treat someone as one kind of person because of their looks or past roles
  • verb
  • /ˈtaɪpˌkæst/
translation icon : encasillar
  • While it's never wise to typecast people by their age, understanding the norms and experiences of a generation can help inform your interactions with its individual members.
  • easy to typecast
  • hard to typecast

I didn't want to become typecast, you know, playing upper class English characters.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • I didn't want to become typecast, you know, playing upper class English characters.

    The Late Late Show with James Corden

  • So I'm typecast because of how I look.

    The BlueTick Show

  • A lot of actors live in fear of typecasting and go out of their way to avoid it.

    Blog text (10)

  • They tried to typecast me and I said no for a whole year before I said yes after Entourage.

    Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum

  • The Hangover has kind of typecast him, and I think this film, and I think Youth in Revolt was another where he wasn't playing that same character.

    Blog text (3)

  • Many actors find it frustrating to be typecast in the same kind of roles throughout their careers.

  • She fears being typecast as a comedian instead of showcasing her dramatic abilities.

  • After his early success, he was quickly typecast as the charming lead in romantic comedies.

Synonyms

to type
vsto typecast
42 3.5

To put someone or something into a particular group because of their features

assumes a person always fits one category, often unfairly or from past roles
to stereotype
vsto typecast
11 4.8

To treat someone as if a simple, fixed idea about their group is true

sees a person repeatedly in the same role because of past roles or looks

Antonyms

to diversify
63 5.3

To add different kinds of products or activities to reduce risk

How Categorized

to stereotype
11 4.8
to typecast
3 6.8
to label
213 2.2
to view
443 1.8

Surface Forms

typecast infinitive
typecasted past
typecasted past participle
typecasting present participle
typecasts third person singular

Morphology

typecast = type + cast (transparent) = type + cast

The verb is a direct compound of 'type' + 'cast' meaning to 'cast/assign into a type', which learners can infer from the components.

Etymology

The word typecast comes from type 'kind' or 'group' and cast 'to choose for a role' or 'to throw', like when an actor is cast in the same part again and again. So, to typecast someone is to always put them into the same kind of role or to see them as one kind of person.