essentialize
To reduce (something) to its essence.
Verb
- To reduce (something) to its essence.
- 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:
- 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"
Origin
From essential + -ize.