dichotomize

American

[dahy-kot-uh-mahyz] / daɪˈkɒt əˌmaɪz /

especially British, dichotomise

verb (used with object)

dichotomized, dichotomizing

to divide or separate into two parts, kinds, etc.

verb (used without object)

dichotomized, dichotomizing

to become divided into two parts; form a dichotomy.

dichotomize British

/ daɪˈkɒtəˌmaɪz /

verb

to divide or become divided into two parts or classifications

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

dichotomist noun
dichotomistic adjective
dichotomization noun

Etymology

Origin of dichotomize

1600–10; < Late Latin dichotom ( os ) dichotomous + -ize

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Let's let the scientists share some wisdom with us before we easily dichotomize the human race.

From New York Times • Dec. 19, 2016

Kissinger has never understood that to dichotomize values in a tough world inevitably means making the moral subject to the practical, not the other way around.

From Time Magazine Archive

Many people dichotomize between the six-year-old and his father.

From Time Magazine Archive

We do not dichotomize this business of civilian and military.

From Time Magazine Archive

Where action is a consequence of a philosophic system, the system seems to dichotomize into art and religion.

From Creative Intelligence Essays in the Pragmatic Attitude by Bode, Boyd H.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023