Meaning & use
characterize
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To describe someone or something by pointing out its main qualities or by naming what kind it is.
Grammar: Takes an object, usually with as: characterize the plan as risky.
Patterns
- characterize someone as something
- characterize something as something
Critics characterized the film as slow but beautiful.
How would you characterize your management style?
He characterized the dispute as a simple misunderstanding.
verbtransitive
To be a typical or defining feature of someone or something.
Grammar: Takes an object; the subject is the feature, usually passive: be characterized by.
Patterns
- be characterized by something
- something characterizes someone
The region is characterized by long, dry summers.
Generosity has always characterized her approach to work.
Quick decisions characterize the best emergency doctors.
Word forms
| third person singular | characterizes |
|---|---|
| past tense | characterized |
| past participle | characterized |
| -ing form | characterizing |
Common combinations
- characterize as
- Reporters characterized the talks as productive.
- be characterized by
- The disease is characterized by fever and fatigue.
- fairly characterize
- That does not fairly characterize what happened.
- accurately characterize
- No single word can accurately characterize her style.
- typically characterize
- Humor typically characterizes his speeches.
Synonyms and how they differ
- describe
- Describe is broader and can simply list details, while characterize focuses on key qualities or labels.
- portray
- Portray suggests a deliberate picture, as in art or media, and may be less direct than characterize.
- typify
- Typify means to be a perfect example of something, while characterize in its second sense only means to be a distinguishing mark.
- label
- Label implies a quick, often too simple tag, whereas characterize allows a fuller description.
Word family
- character noun
- a quality or person in a story
- characteristic adjective
- typical of someone or something
- characterization noun
- the act of describing qualities
- characteristically adverb
- in a typical way
Commonly confused: characterize or categorize? characterize or criticize?
characterize vs categorize
To categorize is to sort things into groups, whereas to characterize is to describe their qualities.
characterize vs criticize
Criticize means to find fault; characterize is neutral and does not imply blame.
Practice
The region is ______ by long, dry summers and mild winters.
Choose one answer.
The passive form is characterized by means having these typical features. Characterizing and characterize are the wrong verb forms, and characterization is a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “characterize”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.