characterization
Americannoun
-
portrayal; description.
the actor's characterization of a politician.
- Synonyms:
- delineation, depiction, representation
-
the act of characterizing or describing the individual quality of a person or thing.
-
the creation and convincing representation of fictitious characters, as in a literary work.
noun
-
description of character, traits, etc
-
the act of characterizing
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of characterization
1560–70; < Medieval Latin charactērizāt ( us ) marked (past participle of charactērizāre to characterize; see -ate 1) + Latin -iōn- -ion
Explanation
If you write a play portraying your workplace as comically disorganized and woefully inefficient, you better hope it makes money, because your boss may fire you for this characterization. The word characterization describes how something is represented. When you break apart the word characterization it’s easy to figure out what it means. Character tells you that this word will likely involve the qualities a person or thing has. The -ization ending means it is a noun — the act of doing something. You can use the word characterization to describe the depiction of a character in a book or a movie, or also as a way a particular person, group, or event is portrayed, such as a journalist’s characterization of a political enemy.
Vocabulary lists containing characterization
Vocabulary to Describe Literary Devices
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Reading: Literature - Fiction - Introductory
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Narrative Writing, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
To determine which explanation was correct, the researchers used an advanced combination of sample preparation and materials characterization techniques.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
Jolie later pushed back in her own court filings, disputing Pitt’s characterization of Shefler.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
Mr. Roxander did so with dancing of bold accent paired with a characterization of a sometimes-hot-headed young man.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
The characterization departs from how political scientists typically define communism, which is generally understood as an ideology centered on collective ownership of the means of production and the elimination of private ownership of productive assets.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
In different forms Bancroft’s characterization was carried into the next century.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
The piece argues that Pratt showed sufficient composure and charm while displaying deference to moderators and occasionally yielding speaking time to Bass, though the article notes he occasionally lapsed into mockery and made unsubstantiated characterizations.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
Intuitive characterizations – “A lie is something that isn’t true” – fall short.
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2026
Across the backends of the internet, cheeky characterizations of Norris-as-god still abound: Chuck Norris can believe it’s not butter, Chuck Norris doesn’t dodge bullets—they dodge him, Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.
From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026
Ms. Manich’s detailed directing made the story and the play within it clear and created individual characterizations for the ensemble members as well as the principals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026
This was the decision that caused Hamilton to repeat his earlier characterizations of Burr as the unprincipled American Catiline, which in turn generated the newspaper reports containing the offensive word “despicable.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
