characterize

[CharĀ·ac*ter*ize]

To characterize someone is to describe them in a certain way, to try to pin down his or her personality. If you say your dad is stingy, you are characterizing him as a miser.

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To make distinct and recognizable by peculiar marks or traits; to make with distinctive features.

Verb
describe or portray the character or the qualities or peculiarities of; "You can characterize his behavior as that of an egotist"; "This poem can be characterized as a lament for a dead lover"

Verb
be characteristic of; "What characterizes a Venetian painting?"


v. t.
To make distinct and recognizable by peculiar marks or traits; to make with distinctive features.

v. t.
To engrave or imprint.

v. t.
To indicate the character of; to describe.

v. t.
To be a characteristic of; to make, or express the character of.


Characterize

Char"ac*ter*ize , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Characterized ; p. pr. & vb. n. Characterizing.] [LL. characterizare, Gr. : cf. F. charact'82riser.] 1. To make distinct and recognizable by peculiar marks or traits; to make with distinctive features.
European, Asiatic, Chinese, African, and Grecian faces are Characterized.
2. To engrave or imprint. [Obs.] Sir M. Hale. 3. To indicate the character of; to describe.
Under the name of Tamerlane he intended to characterize King William.
4. To be a characteristic of; to make, or express the character of.
The softness and effeminacy which characterize the men of rank in most countries.
Syn. -- To describe; distinguish; mark; designate; style; particularize; entitle.

To make distinct and recognizable by peculiar marks or traits; to make with distinctive features.

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Usage Examples

Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems, in my opinion, to characterize our age.

Perfection of means and confusion of ends seem to characterize our age.

Misspelled Form

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Other Usage Examples

I hope we will not so characterize religious people as being so narrow and so biased towards people not of their own religion that they cannot even work with them in this common cause to which you say they are committed.

I feel that I, and the people under my command, tried to use all the traditional methods of recruiting agents which were also used by other intelligence services adopting also means like pressure, money, sex - but that did not characterize my service.

Political folk talk a lot these days about 'messaging' - a neologism designed to describe the way in which parties and politicians consciously characterize their efforts. It is only intended to be positive - i.e., 'Our messaging is designed to show we care.'

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