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.
-
the creation and convincing representation of fictitious characters, as in a literary work.
noun
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description of character, traits, etc
-
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.
Wells Fargo said that the analysis’s characterization of banks financing of such companies as strictly loans was incorrect, since numbers in the analysis include commitments by credit facilities.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026
This is a fitting characterization of any of these terse, disturbing novels.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026
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
Identifying materials that enable this rapid ion movement has traditionally required time-consuming synthesis and experimental characterization.
From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2026
He was actually trying to make amends for his unfair characterization of Adams in the Priestley letter as one of the “ancients.”
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.
