characterization
Americannoun
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portrayal; description.
the actor's characterization of a politician.
- Synonyms:
- delineation, depiction, representation
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the act of characterizing or describing the individual quality of a person or thing.
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the creation and convincing representation of fictitious characters, as in a literary work.
noun
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description of character, traits, etc
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the act of characterizing
Other Word Forms
- recharacterization noun
- self-characterization noun
Etymology
Origin of characterization
1560–70; < Medieval Latin charactērizāt ( us ) marked (past participle of charactērizāre to characterize; -ate 1 ) + Latin -iōn- -ion
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.
In 2024, surveys and focus groups of Hispanic voters made it clear that not everyone was convinced by this characterization.
From Salon • Mar. 25, 2026
Pressed repeatedly by lawmakers, Gabbard declined to directly endorse that characterization, instead arguing that determining what constitutes an imminent threat is ultimately the responsibility of the president.
From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026
Identifying materials that enable this rapid ion movement has traditionally required time-consuming synthesis and experimental characterization.
From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2026
Aswath Damodaran, the so-called ‘dean of valuation,’ said a popular characterization of a dystopian AI future of displacement and disruption was implausible.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 5, 2026
In different forms Bancroft’s characterization was carried into the next century.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
