An arbitrary mold or pattern that something or someone is forced into: "A person once wrote about government procrusteanism which compels identical treatment for everyone in every situation, regardless of each person's individuality."

"Procrusteanism is a failure to recognize the natural differences that exist among people."

"The term procrusteanism comes from Procrustes, a fabled robber of ancient Attica, Greece, who forced travelers to lie on a bed, then lopped off their limbs to make them equal to the length of the bed. If they were too short, he stretched them so they would meet the bed's format."