characterization

[kar-ik-ter-uh-zey-shuhn, -truh-zey-]

noun

1. portrayal; description.

   the actor's characterization of a politician.

   Synonyms: delineation, depiction, representation

2. the act of characterizing or describing the individual quality of a person or thing.

3. the creation and convincing representation of fictitious characters, as in a literary work.

characterization

/ ˌkærɪktəraɪˈzeɪʃən /

noun

1. description of character, traits, etc

2. the act of characterizing

Other Word Forms

• recharacterization noun
• self-characterization noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of characterization¹

1560–70; < Medieval Latin charactērizāt ( us ) marked (past participle of charactērizāre to characterize; -ate ¹ ) + Latin -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

My query to the White House, asking what exactly is so offensive about this characterization of the Mexicans who stayed in California after it became part of the U.S., was acknowledged yet not answered.

From Los Angeles Times

You wouldn’t mistake anybody’s turn for a full-throated or, conversely, subtle characterization — there’s a messiness to the cutting that prioritizes motion over stillness — but the broad strokes of personality are fun.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s a quality of intelligent feeling redolent of Rosalind in “As You Like It” in Wicks’ affecting characterization and luscious singing.

From Los Angeles Times

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said in a statement that the president’s characterization wasn’t rooted in fact, but “based in fear-mongering in an attempt to score cheap political points.”

From Los Angeles Times

But the Colonel who came to light through Guralnick’s latter-day research defied such easy characterization.

From Salon

Related Words

• confession 
• definition 
• depiction 
• detail 
• explanation 
• information 
• narration 
• narrative 
• picture 
• portrayal 
• report 
• sketch 
• statement 
• story 
• summary 
• tale 
• version