characterize

especially British, char·ac·ter·ise

[kar-ik-tuh-rahyz]

verb (used with object)

characterized, characterizing 

1. to mark or distinguish as a characteristic; be a characteristic of.

   Rich metaphors characterize his poetry.

2. to describe the character or individual quality of.

   He characterized her in a few well-chosen words.

3. to attribute character to.

   to characterize him as a coward.

characterize

/ ˈkærɪktəˌraɪz /

verb

1. to be a characteristic of

   loneliness characterized the place

2. to distinguish or mark as a characteristic

3. to describe or portray the character of

Other Word Forms

• characterizable adjective
• characterizer noun
• mischaracterize verb (used with object)
• recharacterize verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of characterize¹

First recorded in 1585–95; from Medieval Latin charactērizāre, from Greek charaktērízein; character, -ize

Example Sentences

Dehn and others have characterized that reading of the code as semantic and divorced from its legal context.

From Los Angeles Times

Sure, al-Jasser died as part of what Human Rights Watch and the Middle East Democracy Center characterize as “an unprecedented surge in executions in 2025 without apparent due process.”

From Salon

Al-Astal refused being characterized as a traitor, saying family members, including his sister, were killed by Israeli bombs.

From Los Angeles Times

They had previously been characterized as entirely herbivorous, like gorillas, Goodall observed them hunting, killing and eating small mammals such as bush pigs and colobus monkeys, by any standard a complicated collaborative enterprise.

From Salon

But Goodall overcame her critics and produced work that Gould later characterized as “one of the Western world’s great scientific achievements.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• define 
• describe 
• identify 
• indicate 
• mark 
• outline 
• portray 
• represent 
• symbolize