stereotype

[ ster-ee-uh-tahyp, steer- ]
/ ˈstɛr i əˌtaɪp, ˈstɪər- /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR stereotype ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a process, now often replaced by more advanced methods, for making metal printing plates by taking a mold of composed type or the like in papier-mâché or other material and then taking from this mold a cast in type metal.
a plate made by this process.
a set form; convention.
Sociology. a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group: The cowboy and Indian are American stereotypes.

verb (used with object), ster·e·o·typed, ster·e·o·typ·ing.

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decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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Origin of stereotype

First recorded in 1790–1800; stereo- + -type

OTHER WORDS FROM stereotype

ster·e·o·typ·er, ster·e·o·typ·ist, nounster·e·o·typ·ic [ster-ee-uh-tip-ik, steer-] /ˌstɛr i əˈtɪp ɪk, ˌstɪər-/, ster·e·o·typ·i·cal, adjectivenon·ster·e·o·typ·ic, adjectivenon·ster·e·o·typ·i·cal, adjective

Words nearby stereotype

stereotape, stereotaxic, stereotaxis, stereotomy, stereotropism, stereotype, stereotyped, stereotypy, stereovision, steric, steric hindrance
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to stereotypical

hackneyed, stereotyped, banal, bathetic, bromidic, chain, common, commonplace, corny, drained, dull, exhausted, flat, hokey, jejune, moth-eaten, musty, ordinary, overused

Example sentences from the Web for stereotypical

British Dictionary definitions for stereotypical

stereotype
/ (ˈstɛrɪəˌtaɪp, ˈstɪər-) /

noun

  1. a method of producing cast-metal printing plates from a mould made from a forme of type matter in papier-mâché or some other material
  2. the plate so made
another word for stereotypy
an idea, trait, convention, etc, that has grown stale through fixed usage
sociol a set of inaccurate, simplistic generalizations about a group that allows others to categorize them and treat them accordingly

verb (tr)

  1. to make a stereotype of
  2. to print from a stereotype
to impart a fixed usage or convention to

Derived forms of stereotype

stereotyper or stereotypist, nounstereotypic (ˌstɛrɪə ˈtɪpɪk, ˌstɪər-) or stereotypical, adjective
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

Cultural definitions for stereotypical (1 of 2)

stereotype

A too-simple and therefore distorted image of a group, such as “Football players are stupid” or “The English are cold and unfriendly people.”

Cultural definitions for stereotypical (2 of 2)

stereotype

A generalization, usually exaggerated or oversimplified and often offensive, that is used to describe or distinguish a group.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.