French word

stéréotype

Pronunciation

IPA/steʁeotip/

Meaning

  • masculine nounstereotype

Example

Ne croyez pas aux stéréotypes.

Don't believe in stereotypes.

Illustration for stéréotype (stereotype)

More examples

Essayons de briser les stéréotypes.

Let's try to break the stereotypes.

Core concept

One hard mold pressing a simplified pattern onto many different cases.

Common phrases

  • les stéréotypes

    the stereotypes

  • briser les stéréotypes

    break the stereotypes

  • déconstruire un stéréotype

    deconstruct a stereotype

Similar words

idée reçue: A widely accepted belief with little evidence behind it.
généralisation: A simplistic view formed by applying a few examples to an entire group.
préjugé: A negative judgment about a person or group made without sufficient evidence.
cliché: An overused and predictable image or expression.

Definition in French

Une opinion préconçue ou une image toute faite attribuée sans preuve, basée sur des généralisations et difficile à modifier.

Word origin

Stéréotype entered French as a term for a solid printing plate formed from type, then came to denote a fixed belief or image by the nineteenth century.

Usage tips

  • The related adjective is stéréotypé, with feminine form stéréotypée, rather than the English-looking form 'stereotypical'.

Other meanings

  • preconceptionnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • stéréotyperstereotypeverb
  • stéréotypéstereotypedadjective
  • stéréotypagestereotypingnoun

Word lists with this word