to be a characteristic of to distinguish or mark as a characteristic to describe or portray the character of
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
char•ac•ter•ize /ˈkærɪktəˌraɪz/USA pronunciation
v., -ized, -iz•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- to be a characteristic of:[~ + object]Brutality characterizes that horrible dictator.
- to describe the character of: [ ~ + obj + as + noun]:[~ + object + as]The president characterized that dictator as a scoundrel.[ ~ + obj + as + adjective]:I'd characterize him as crazy.
char•ac•ter•ize
(kar′ik tə rīz′),USA pronunciation v.t., -ized, -iz•ing.
char′ac•ter•iz′a•ble, adj.
char′ac•ter•iz′er, n.
- 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.
- Greek charaktērízein. See character, -ize
- Medieval Latin charactērizāre
- 1585–95
char′ac•ter•iz′er, n.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'characterize' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
-philic
- -ville
- Kaposi's sarcoma
- Neronize
- Titania
- Victorian values
- abnormal psychology
- blunt
- categorize
- characterization
- culture
- depict
- describe
- diagnostic
- distinguish
- dominate
- eloquent
- eternity
- falsehood
- federalese
- human nature
- life cycle
- mad
- mark
- mind
- orderly
- qualify
- ripe
- servile
- stamp
- stereotype
- still
- syndrome
- talkative
- touch
- trappings
- typify