essentialize
verbEtymology From essential + -ize.
1
To reduce (something) to its essence.
2
To misrepresent (something) by oversimplifying a summary of its essence.
- “This is an essentializing of Hinduism,” Ms. Narayanan said, “and the diversity of Hinduism in India is lost here.”2007 July 21, Neela Banerjee, “Camp Joins Summer Fun With Teaching Hindu Faith”, in New York Times:
3
To misrepresent (a characteristic of something) by falsely portraying it as essential to the whole (that is, implying that it defines the whole's essence).
- to essentialize race by stereotyping "what Whites do" or "how Blacks think"
- Derived terms
- essentialization, essentializer
- Related terms
- essential, essentialism, essentialist, essentialistic