stereotypical

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English stereotype

Proto-Indo-European *-kos

Proto-Indo-European *-ikos

Proto-Italic *-ikos

Latin -icuslbor.

Old French -iquebor.

Middle English -ic

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālisbor.

Old French -albor.

▲

Latin -ālis

Old French -elbor.

▲

Latin -ālisbor.

Middle English -al

Middle English -ical

English -ical

English stereotypical

From stereotype + -ical.

Pronunciation

• enPR: stĕr′ē-ə-tĭp′ĭ-kəl, stîr′-
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌstɛɹ.iː.əˈtɪp.ɪ.kəl/; /ˌstɪə̯-/, /ˌstɪː-/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌstɛɹ.i.əˈtɪp.ɪ.kəl/; /ˌstɪɹ-/
• (Australian) IPA^(key): /ˌsteɹ.iː.əˈtɪp.ɪ.kəl/; /ˌstɪə̯-/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˌsteɹ.iː.əˈtəp.ə.kəl/; /ˌsti(ː)ə̯-/
• Rhymes: -ɪpɪkəl
• Hyphenation: ster‧e‧o‧typ‧i‧cal

Adjective

stereotypical (comparative more stereotypical, superlative most stereotypical)

2. Pertaining to a stereotype; conventional.
   • 2007, James Burr, Ugly Stories for Beautiful People, page 45:

     There were a lot of young girls, in their early-twenties she guessed, many of them either Gothed up in thick black mascara and black lip stick, others looking like stereotypical Beat Girls in black rollnecks and jeans.

   • 2025 March 30, Scottie Andrew, “Queer and trans homesteaders are conquering the social media frontier”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     A drag queen may not comfortably fit the stereotypical homesteader mold. In the 19th century, homesteaders were Western pioneers who built new lives from necessity; on TikTok, the most popular homesteaders are often parents with young families or those with a lifelong connection to the practice, which often include so-called “tradwives,” or women who play a stereotypically gendered role in their family.

4. Banal, commonplace, and clichéd because of overuse.

   I was disappointed by the stereotypical the-butler-did-it ending.

6. Relating to stereotypy.
   • 2005, Lloyd J. Brown, Lee Todd Miller, Pediatrics, page 383:

     Tics are brief, stereotypical behaviors that are initiated by an unconscious urge that can be temporarily suppressed.

Derived terms

• counterstereotypical
• nonstereotypical
• stereotypically
• unstereotypical

Related terms

• stereotype
• stereotyper
• stereotypic

Translations

pertaining to a stereotype

• Catalan: estereotípic
• Dutch: stereotiep (nl)
• Finnish: stereotyyppinen (fi)
• French: stéréotypé (fr)
• Galician: estereotípico m
• Georgian: სტერეოტიპული (sṭereoṭiṗuli)
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: estereotípico, tópico (es)
• Swedish: stereotyp (sv)

banal

• Catalan: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: stereotiep (nl)
• Finnish: stereotyyppinen (fi)
• French: please add this translation if you can
• Galician: please add this translation if you can
• Georgian: სტერეოტიპული (sṭereoṭiṗuli)
• Italian: stereotipo (it)
• Spanish: estereotipado (es) m, manoseado (es) m, gastado (es) m, trillado (es) m
• Swedish: please add this translation if you can

relating to stereotypy

• Catalan: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: stereotyyppinen (fi)
• French: please add this translation if you can
• Galician: please add this translation if you can
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• Italian: stereotipo (it)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: please add this translation if you can

See also

• prototypical

Further reading

• “stereotypical”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.