dichotomize

[ dahy-kot-uh-mahyz ]

verb (used with object)

, di·chot·o·mized, di·chot·o·miz·ing.

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

verb (used without object)

, di·chot·o·mized, di·chot·o·miz·ing.

1. to become divided into two parts; form a dichotomy.

dichotomize

/ daɪˈkɒtəˌmaɪz /

verb

1. to divide or become divided into two parts or classifications

Derived Forms

• diˈchotomist, noun
• diˌchotomiˈzation, noun

Other Words From

• di·chot·o·mist [dahy-, kot, -, uh, -mist], noun
• di·choto·mistic adjective
• di·choto·mi·zation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dichotomize¹

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

Example Sentences

The legacy of Scott Morrison’s government is that the public debate about pandemic restrictions has been dichotomized, he said.

From New York Times

Redressing this balance in ways that avoid harmful and false dichotomizing, could serve several critical functions in the context of COVID-19, particularly in terms of avoiding growing inequity.

From Scientific American

“If we’re too positive, it can become an empty platitude. The ‘and’ addresses our natural instinct to dichotomize an experience and call it either good or bad.”

From Washington Post

Much of the rhetoric surrounding immigration and potential reform is dichotomized: There is the “us,” the legal citizens of the United States, and the “them,” the foreign others whom President Trump’s proposed wall would obstruct.

From Washington Post

Yet when language scholars try to debunk the spurious rules, the dichotomizing mindset imagines that they are trying to abolish all standards of good writing.

From Literature

Related Words

• break
• disband
• divide
• isolate
• open
• rip
• rive
• separate
• sever
• splinter
• tear