categorization

/ˌkætəɡorɪˈzeɪʃən/

Other forms: categorizations

Categorization is the act of sorting and organizing things according to group, class, or, as you might expect, category. This noun is very similar in meaning to "assortment," "classification," and "compartmentalization."

When we discuss the differences between mammals and birds, or reptiles and amphibians, we are talking about the categorization of the animal kingdom. Another form of categorization is the way libraries shelve their books by subject, genre, and reading level. Rearranging all those books by color or size would be yet another kind of categorization, but not a very useful one for people wanting to check out lots of books about birds or reptiles.

Definitions of categorization

1. noun

   the basic cognitive process of arranging into classes or categories
   synonyms: categorisation, classification, sorting

   types:

   coordination

   being of coordinate importance, rank, or degree

   appraisal, assessment

   the classification of someone or something with respect to its worth

   ascription, attribution

   assigning to a cause or source

   ascription, attribution

   assigning some quality or character to a person or thing

   cross-classification, cross-division

   classification according to more than one attribute at the same time

   subsumption

   incorporating something under a more general category

   critical analysis, critical appraisal

   an appraisal based on careful analytical evaluation

   zoomorphism

   the attribution of animal forms or qualities to a god

   animatism

   the attribution of consciousness and personality to natural phenomena such as thunderstorms and earthquakes and to objects such as plants and stones

   imputation

   the attribution to a source or cause

   externalisation, externalization

   attributing to outside causes

   evaluation, rating, valuation

   an appraisal of the value of something

   assay, check

   an appraisal of the state of affairs

   acid test

   a rigorous or crucial appraisal

   reappraisal, reassessment, revaluation, review

   a new appraisal or evaluation

   underevaluation

   an appraisal that underestimates the value of something

   type of:

   basic cognitive process

   cognitive processes involved in obtaining and storing knowledge
2. noun

   the act of distributing things into classes or categories of the same type
   synonyms: assortment, categorisation, classification, compartmentalisation, compartmentalization

   types:

   indexing

   the act of classifying and providing an index in order to make items easier to retrieve

   reclassification

   classifying something again (usually in a new category)

   relegation

   the act of assigning (someone or something) to a particular class or category

   stratification

   the act or process or arranging persons into classes or social strata

   taxonomy

   practice of classifying plants and animals according to their presumed natural relationships

   typology

   classification according to general type

   type of:

   grouping

   the activity of putting things together in groups
3. noun

   a group of people or things arranged by class or category
   synonyms: categorisation, classification

   types:

   dichotomy, duality

   being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses

   trichotomy

   being threefold; a classification into three parts or subclasses

   type of:

   arrangement

   an orderly grouping (of things or persons) considered as a unit; the result of arranging