characterization

noun char·ac·ter·i·za·tion \ ˌker-ik-t(ə-)rə-ˈzā-shən , ˌka-rik- \

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

: the act of characterizing; especially : the artistic representation (as in fiction or drama) of human character or motives

the author's characterization of the boy as someone who wanted to be accepted by others

See characterization defined for English-language learners

See characterization defined for kids

Examples of characterization in a Sentence

The reporter was criticized for his characterization of the people of the town as poor and uneducated.
News reporting requires accurate characterization.
The class discussed the author's characterization of the boy as someone who wanted to be accepted by others.
The story has good characterization.

Recent Examples of characterization from the Web

Other senators hit Zuckerberg hard on his characterizations of how the breach was handled in 2015 and then again recently when a whistle blower revealed the extent of it.

— david zurawik, baltimoresun.com, "Zurawik: Mr. Zuckerberg went to Washington. Washington didn't buy it.," 11 Apr. 2018
But the ranking House members who demanded that the FCC act dispute this characterization.

— lily hay newman, WIRED, "DC's Stingray Mess Won't Get Cleaned Up," 6 Apr. 2018
And to a certain degree, Democrats have bowed to that characterization.

— sarah jones, The New Republic, "How Liberals Learned to Love the Teachers," 4 Apr. 2018
Mantello draws on Jackson’s staunchness, but her characterization, like that of the other actors, comes not from inside—or the inside that Albee has supplied—but from previous performances, Glenda Jackson in tough Glenda Jackson roles.

— rachel aviv, The New Yorker, "A Lost Opportunity in “Three Tall Women”," 2 Apr. 2018
But supporters of the wide-ranging bill — including Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh (D) — balk at that characterization.

— ovetta wiggins, Washington Post, "Md. lawmakers struggle for ways to address crime in one of the nation’s most violent cities," 24 Mar. 2018
Rick Donley, president of the Beer Alliance of Texas, which represents distributors’ interests, disagrees with some of my characterization of the tensions between craft brewers, distributors and the 2017 law.

— michael taylor, San Antonio Express-News, "Hopping mad about Texas beer regulations," 5 Mar. 2018
Ross, the literary agent, takes issue with that characterization.

— tim rohan, SI.com, "Jonathan Martin’s Life in the Shadows," 2 Mar. 2018
Burke's characterization falls right in line with a trend started by Jones' tenure at Louis Vuitton, to make its men's collections incredibly buzzy.

— ana colon, Glamour, "Here's Why Virgil Abloh's New Job at Louis Vuitton Matters," 26 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'characterization.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of characterization

see ¹character

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1841

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody

CHARACTERIZATION Defined for English Language Learners

characterization

noun

: the act of describing the character or qualities of someone or something
: the way a writer makes a person in a story, book, play, movie, or television show seem like a real person