Meaning & use
Stereotypes
Last updated
Widely held but oversimplified and fixed ideas about a particular type of person or thing.
See it in a sentence
The film challenged common stereotypes about small-town life.
She grew tired of having to disprove stereotypes about her generation.
A note on using this word
The word originally referred to a printing plate used to reproduce the same image repeatedly, which inspired its modern figurative meaning.
Words with a similar meaning
clichésgeneralizationstypecasts
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Another way to use it
2. verb
To categorize someone or something using an oversimplified, fixed idea.
The show constantly stereotypes small towns as backward.
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