characterize

[ kar-ik-tuh-rahyz ]

/ ˈkær ɪk təˌraɪz /

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See synonyms for: characterize / characterized / characterizes / characterizing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), char·ac·ter·ized, char·ac·ter·iz·ing.

to mark or distinguish as a characteristic; be a characteristic of: Rich metaphors characterize his poetry.

to describe the character or individual quality of: He characterized her in a few well-chosen words.

to attribute character to: to characterize him as a coward.

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Also especially British, char·ac·ter·ise .

Origin of characterize

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

OTHER WORDS FROM characterize

char·ac·ter·iz·a·ble, adjectivechar·ac·ter·iz·er, nounmis·char·ac·ter·ize, verb (used with object), mis·char·ac·ter·ized, mis·char·ac·ter·iz·ing.re·char·ac·ter·ize, verb (used with object), re·char·ac·ter·ized, re·char·ac·ter·iz·ing.

Words nearby characterize

characteristics, characteristic vector, characteristic velocity, characteristic x-ray, characterization, characterize, characterized, character level, character piece, character recognition, characters

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use characterize in a sentence

In fact, that definition of militias — small, armed groups of civilians fighting against the government — has characterized these kinds of movements throughout American history, Churchill told us.
How Trump And COVID-19 Have Reshaped The Modern Militia Movement|Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux|September 4, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
A self-contained, persistent blob of turbulence constructed of well-characterized vortices offers a new world of possibilities for measurement and analysis.
An Unexpected Twist Lights Up the Secrets of Turbulence|David H. Freedman|September 3, 2020|Quanta Magazine
However, despite the vitriol that has come to characterize the campaign, most Bay Staters see the race as a choice between two good Democrats.
Today’s Elections In Massachusetts Are Another Big Test For The Progressive Movement|Nathaniel Rakich (nathaniel.rakich@fivethirtyeight.com)|September 1, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Clipper will orbit Jupiter, but will conduct about 45 flybys of Europa and use a suite of instruments to characterize the surface and subsurface as much as possible.
The 5 best places to explore in the solar system—besides Mars|Neel Patel|August 17, 2020|MIT Technology Review

For such a system, “its behavior is no longer characterized just by a temperature,” Bechhoefer says.
A new experiment hints at how hot water can freeze faster than cold|Emily Conover|August 7, 2020|Science News
So if the people in London and New York are more real, how would you characterize Angelenos?
Stephen Merchant Talks ‘Hello Ladies’ movie, the Nicole Kidman Cameo, and Legacy of ‘The Office’|Marlow Stern|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
How would you characterize the relationship now between you and Jack?
All Eyes on Anjelica Huston: The Legendary Actress on Love, Abuse, and Jack Nicholson|Alex Suskind|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The administration repeatedly refused to characterize the matter in terms of national security interests.
How Ted Cruz Trolls Obama’s Foreign Policy|Eli Lake|July 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Those models have gotten more sophisticated, so they need more data in order to characterize the fuels that can be consumed.
Fighting Wildfire With Satellites, Lasers, and Drones|Elizabeth Lopatto|July 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
How would you characterize the Ukrainian uprising of 2013-2014?
Inside ‘Maidan’: Sergei Loznitsa on His Ukrainian Uprising Doc and Putin’s ‘Fascist’ Regime|Richard Porton|May 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is difficult to characterize the curious comPg 158bination of levity and seriousness that runs through this tale.
Frdric Mistral|Charles Alfred Downer
We shall, then, in a separate chapter, examine and endeavour to characterize the inverse process.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive|John Stuart Mill
The vestiges of barbarism characterize the African, in his normal state.
The Right of American Slavery|True Worthy Hoit
"I haven't any time this morning," he said, speaking with a rapidity which had begun to characterize his newly awakened life.
Interrupted|Pansy
Science must characterize the difference between those two and we pointed once before to the only fundamental difference.
Psychotherapy|Hugo Mnsterberg

British Dictionary definitions for characterize

characterize

characterise

/ (ˈkærɪktəˌraɪz) /

verb (tr)

to be a characteristic ofloneliness characterized the place

to distinguish or mark as a characteristic

to describe or portray the character of

Derived forms of characterize

characterizable or characterisable, adjectivecharacterizer or characteriser, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

characterize

Origin of characterize

OTHER WORDS FROM characterize

Words nearby characterize

Words related to characterize

How to use characterize in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for characterize

characterise

Derived forms of characterize