characterize

verb

char·​ac·​ter·​ize ˈker-ik-tə-ˌrīz 

ˈka-rik-

characterized; characterizing

transitive verb

1

: to describe the character (see character entry 1 sense 1a) or quality of

characterizes him as ambitious

2

: to be a characteristic of : distinguish

an era characterized by greed

Synonyms of characterize

• describe
• portray
• define

Examples of characterize in a Sentence

How would you characterize the situation?

I would characterize this as a positive change for our company.

She had difficulty characterizing their relationship.

His personality is hard to characterize.

Farms and large flat fields characterize most of the area.

the beliefs that characterized Europe in the 15th century

Recent Examples on the Web

In a 2026 market characterized by rising customer acquisition costs and economic volatility, B2B companies can no longer afford to treat pricing as a static number on a rate card. — Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026

In total, Wax characterized the assortment as its largest denim offering to date, encompassing 15 washes, seven selvedge styles, two jackets and one shirt. — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 16 Sep. 2026

Chinese authorities imposed new restrictions on foreign travel in order to stop cutting-edge technology and top-flight researchers from leaving, taking a step closer to a regime that had characterized a more closed-off China of decades past. — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 15 Sep. 2026

However, the event was targeted on social media by accounts like Libs of TikTok, which characterized the gathering as a drag show meant to groom children while funding undocumented immigrants. — Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 15 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see character entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1602, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for characterize

• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise
• apologize
• capitalize
• categorize
• commercialize
• conceptualize
• contrariwise
• criminalize
• decentralize
• democratize

Kids Definition

characterize

verb

char·​ac·​ter·​ize ˈkar-ik-tə-ˌrīz 

characterized; characterizing

1

: to point out the character of an individual or group : describe

characterize him as ambitious

2

: to be characteristic of

tragic endings characterized her stories