stereotype
verb
ste·reo·type
| \ ˈster-ē-ə-ˌtīp
, ˈstir-\
, ˈstir-\
stereotyped;
stereotyping;
stereotypes
Definition of stereotype
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: to make a stereotype from
2a
: to repeat without variation : make hackneyed
b
: to develop a mental stereotype about
stereotype
nounDefinition of stereotype (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: a plate cast from a printing surface
2
: something conforming to a fixed or general pattern
especially
: a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment
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Synonyms for stereotype
Synonyms: Verb
hackney, overexpose, overuse, vulgarize
Synonyms: Noun
concept, conception, generality, generalization, notion
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Examples of stereotype in a Sentence
Verb
It's not fair to stereotype a whole group of people based on one person you don't like. movies have stereotyped the hooker with a heart of gold ad nauseamNoun
the stereotype of the absentminded professor the noble savage was a stereotype that appealed to 18th-century intellectuals, who viewed European civilization as decadent and corrupt
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Historically, black women have been stereotyped, marginalized, or altogether missing in these narratives. — Anne Showalter, Smithsonian, "The Fierce Pride and Passion of Rhinestone Fashion," 9 Aug. 2019 Children with more exposure to people of other races are less likely to stereotype and more likely to seek out diverse experiences as adults. — Erica Frankenberg, The Conversation, "What school segregation looks like in the US today, in 4 charts," 19 July 2019 In classic musicals, Kaats says, people of color and the LGBTQ community were excluded or stereotyped. — Kathy Berdan, Twin Cities, "Classic musical ’42nd Street’ revamped for new audiences at the Ordway," 18 July 2019 Regulators will consider the perspective of the group being stereotyped when deciding whether an ad should be allowed. — Billy Perrigo, Time, "The U.K. Just Banned 'Harmful Gender Stereotypes' in Advertising," 14 June 2019 So why not watch a show that celebrates immigrants instead of stereotyping them? — Emily Bloch, Teen Vogue, "Skip Trump's Prime-Time Immigration Address With 7 These Other Things You Can Watch Instead," 8 Jan. 2019 With the amount of work moms tend to shoulder at home, dads get a bad rap in the parenting department and are often stereotyped as the fun or lazy one. — Elyse Roth, Redbook, "Dad Wins the Internet Today With Message Proclaiming "I'm Not the Babysitter"," 17 May 2017 The performances would stereotype black men and women as ignorant, hypersexual, superstitious, lazy people who were prone to thievery and cowardice. — Jesse J. Holland, The Seattle Times, "Explaining the outrage: Racist history of American blackface began in the 1830s," 6 Feb. 2019 Asians in America have long been stereotyped as undistinguishable robotic automatons. — Michael Li, Vox, "I support affirmative action. But Harvard really is hurting Asian Americans.," 18 Oct. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Professional success, though, was nearly inaccessible, undermined by prejudice and stereotypes. — Brian T. Allen, National Review, "Dog Days of Summer? Visit the New Museum of the Dog," 24 Aug. 2019 The real Paine was so much more compelling — a thin Quaker, an individualist with a big heart, who lived her life as far from a silly Texas stereotype as anyone could have. — Michael Granberry, Dallas News, "In searching for the next ‘Hamilton,’ the makers of the musical ‘Oswald’ traverse the JFK minefield," 23 Aug. 2019 The fraud stereotype is also often pushed back as an unfair generalization, with successes within Nigeria’s startup and tech ecosystem cited as contrary evidence. — Yomi Kazeem, Quartz Africa, "The FBI’s Nigerian email scam ring bust shows how the billion-dollar global fraud has evolved," 23 Aug. 2019 Last weekend, two young Londoners launched a counter-campaign in an attempt to combat the stereotypes that the U.K. government’s campaign. — Julia Webster, Time, "'Racist, or, at Best, Unfathomably Stupid.' Britons Finding it Hard to Swallow Campaign to Curb Knife Crime With Ads on Fried Chicken Boxes," 23 Aug. 2019 Her season had multiple moments that proved important lessons for young women and men about gender politics, women’s rights, faith, Southern stereotypes and more. — Ben Flanagan | Bflanagan@al.com, al, "Hannah Brown officially joins ‘Dancing with the Stars’; meet the entire cast," 21 Aug. 2019 And yet so many new parents are confronted with the stereotype that maternity leave is, more-or-less, a vacation. — SELF, "Actually, Maternity Leave Is Not a Vacation," 20 Aug. 2019 This survey exhibition examines the four-decade career of Bradley (Chippewa), who is known for producing vibrant, figurative paintings inspired by the Native experience — while also wryly poking at stereotypes and Hollywood tropes. — Los Angeles Times, "Datebook: How Duke Ellington inspired an art show about black and Latino experience," 15 Aug. 2019 Several students who participated last year say Wessler’s sessions provided an opportunity to speak openly with one another about topics including racial slurs and stereotypes. — BostonGlobe.com, "Immigrant students learn hard lessons about racism at a historically white high school in Maine," 14 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stereotype.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for stereotype
stereotype
verb
English Language Learners Definition of stereotype
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to believe unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same
stereotype
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of stereotype (Entry 2 of 2)
: an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic
See the full definition for stereotype in the English Language Learners Dictionary
stereotype
noun
ste·reo·type
| \ ˈster-ē-ə-ˌtīp