as in classifying
to arrange or assign according to type
we shouldn't compartmentalize the students into such restrictive categories as scholar and athlete, which are not mutually exclusive
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Recent Examples of compartmentalizing
The duality applies to the whole team, which has seemingly mastered compartmentalizing its fun side and its serious side, tapping into one personality or the other on command.
—
Haley Sawyer, Daily News, 28 Mar. 2026
The premise isn’t without its intriguing ideas, too, like how dating-app technology has had a broader compartmentalizing effect on monogamous relationships in general.
—Andy Andersen, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2026
Also, this team had been good all season at compartmentalizing and being unmoved by things outside their control.
—Dianna Russini, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2026
But Knife is careful to avoid giving the assailant too much space in the narrative, as if compartmentalizing his role was somehow a necessary part of the writer’s rehabilitation.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 25 Jan. 2026
But a different kind of compartmentalizing going on, yeah.
—Kate Aurthur, Variety, 7 Nov. 2025
Instead of compartmentalizing passion and profession, some workers are finding that one can meaningfully enhance the other.
—Michael Hansen, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Haley Sawyer, Daily News, 28 Mar. 2026
The premise isn’t without its intriguing ideas, too, like how dating-app technology has had a broader compartmentalizing effect on monogamous relationships in general.
—Andy Andersen, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2026
Also, this team had been good all season at compartmentalizing and being unmoved by things outside their control.
—Dianna Russini, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2026
But Knife is careful to avoid giving the assailant too much space in the narrative, as if compartmentalizing his role was somehow a necessary part of the writer’s rehabilitation.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 25 Jan. 2026
But a different kind of compartmentalizing going on, yeah.
—Kate Aurthur, Variety, 7 Nov. 2025
Instead of compartmentalizing passion and profession, some workers are finding that one can meaningfully enhance the other.
—Michael Hansen, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compartmentalizing
Verb
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Like Wright’s past games, this one would be about tinkering, about trial and error, about classifying and reclassifying and watching as one’s psyche-map changed.—
Eric Boodman,
Vulture,
25 Mar. 2026
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That includes House Bill 1117, which would require Maryland Medicaid and other state programs to cover monitoring devices by classifying them as medical equipment for individuals at higher risk of elopement.—
Danielle J. Brown,
Baltimore Sun,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Rules Committee ranking member Jim McGovern (D-MA) blasted Republicans for bypassing typical House procedure and not giving the Senate deal a vote during the committee’s last-minute, Friday afternoon hearing.—
Rachel Schilke,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Mar. 2026
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After removing three high-ranking deputies from the command staff, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office has announced new promotions to assistant sheriff.—
Milena Malaver,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The criterion of self-consciousness, meanwhile, is of no use for the practical task of distinguishing between human and nonhuman digital activity.—
Andrey Mir,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
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Per Alström, a researcher involved in the study, described the challenge of distinguishing the two species by conventional means.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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This might look like picking up items out of place, wiping down surfaces, tending to papers, folding blankets, and grouping like items.—
Wendy Rose Gould,
Martha Stewart,
30 Mar. 2026
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Embrace a design strategy that focuses on grouping plants in drifts or mass plantings.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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What more could Long Rife have accomplished in a world that has pushed women’s basketball to the front, instead of relegating it to a sideshow?—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
28 Mar. 2026
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The polarizing Le Pen qualified for the second-round runoff against Chirac, the incumbent and first-round winner, by a whisker, relegating Jospin to third place.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The town clerk was commended by the Broward state attorney for excellence for updating, electronically scanning and categorizing town files after much neglect.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
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Then, by categorizing values by risk, the platform can reportedly identify high-value customers, first-time buyers, return abusers and fraudsters.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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One thing to keep in mind is that the bathrooms are open-concept, flowing into the bedroom and living area with no door separating the sink/vanity.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Mar. 2026
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And the optimization discipline to match it —Agentic Web Optimization — is already separating winners from the rest.—
Aviv Shamny,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Much of the in-game day, which lasts at most 15 minutes, is spent pinging between attending to the growing line of customers, sorting the video returns piling up on the counter, and answering the busy office phone.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
31 Mar. 2026
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Robots gain dexterity Robotic manipulation has advanced rapidly with Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models, enabling machines to handle everyday tasks like sorting laundry or picking up objects.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Compartmentalizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compartmentalizing. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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