Characterize — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

describe or portray the character or the qualities or peculiarities of

be characteristic of

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/kɹˈɛsəntlˌaɪk/

🇬🇧British English

/sˈɪnɪks/

🇮🇳Indian English

/sˈɪnɪks/

4 syllables Say it as /kɹˈɛsəntlˌaɪk/.

Examples

You can characterize his behavior as that of an egotist
This poem can be characterized as a lament for a dead lover
What characterizes a Venetian painting?

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

characterise qualify

Parts of Speech

verb	describe or portray the character or the qualities or peculiarities of “You can characterize his behavior as that of an egotist”
verb	be characteristic of “What characterizes a Venetian painting?”

Word Forms

quality	noun	a characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something
characterization	noun	the act of describing distinctive characteristics or essential features
character	noun	a characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something
characterisation	noun	the act of describing distinctive characteristics or essential features

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

charakterisieren

den Charakter oder die Qualitäten oder Besonderheiten von beschreiben oder darstellen

🇫🇷French

caractériser

décrire ou représenter le caractère ou les qualités ou particularités de

🇪🇸Spanish

caracterizar

describir o retratar el carácter o las cualidades o peculiaridades de

🇮🇹Italian

caratterizzare

descrivere o ritrarre il carattere o le qualità o peculiarità di

🇳🇱Dutch

karakteriseren

het karakter of de kwaliteiten of eigenaardigheden van beschrijven of uitbeelden

🇵🇹Portuguese

caracterizar

descrever ou retratar o caráter ou as qualidades ou peculiaridades de

🇷🇺Russian

характеризовать

описать или изобразить характер, качества или особенности

India

🇮🇳Hindi

चिह्नित करना

के चरित्र या गुणों या विशिष्टताओं का वर्णन या चित्रण करना

🇧🇩Bengali

বৈশিষ্ট্য

চরিত্র বা গুণাবলী বা বিশেষত্ব বর্ণনা বা চিত্রিত করুন

🇮🇳Tamil

குணாதிசயம்

பாத்திரம் அல்லது குணங்கள் அல்லது தனித்தன்மைகளை விவரிக்கவும் அல்லது சித்தரிக்கவும்

🇮🇳Telugu

వర్ణించు

పాత్ర లేదా లక్షణాలు లేదా ప్రత్యేకతలను వివరించండి లేదా చిత్రీకరించండి

🇮🇳Marathi

वैशिष्ट्यीकृत

वर्ण किंवा गुण किंवा वैशिष्ठ्य यांचे वर्णन किंवा चित्रण करा

🇮🇳Gujarati

લાક્ષણિકતા

પાત્ર અથવા ગુણો અથવા વિશિષ્ટતાઓનું વર્ણન અથવા ચિત્રણ કરો

🇮🇳Kannada

ಗುಣಲಕ್ಷಣ

ಪಾತ್ರ ಅಥವಾ ಗುಣಗಳು ಅಥವಾ ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟತೆಗಳನ್ನು ವಿವರಿಸಿ ಅಥವಾ ಚಿತ್ರಿಸಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

സ്വഭാവം

കഥാപാത്രത്തെയോ ഗുണങ്ങളെയോ പ്രത്യേകതകളെയോ വിവരിക്കുകയോ ചിത്രീകരിക്കുകയോ ചെയ്യുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਵਿਸ਼ੇਸ਼ਤਾ

ਦੇ ਚਰਿੱਤਰ ਜਾਂ ਗੁਣਾਂ ਜਾਂ ਵਿਸ਼ੇਸ਼ਤਾਵਾਂ ਦਾ ਵਰਣਨ ਕਰੋ ਜਾਂ ਪੇਸ਼ ਕਰੋ

🇵🇰Urdu

خصوصیات

کردار یا خصوصیات یا خصوصیات کو بیان کریں یا پیش کریں۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

表征

描述或描绘人物的性格、品质或特点

🇯🇵Japanese

特徴づける

～の性格、特質、特質を説明または描写する

🇰🇷Korean

특성화하다

성격이나 자질, 특징을 묘사하거나 묘사합니다.

🇻🇳Vietnamese

mô tả đặc điểm

mô tả hoặc miêu tả tính cách hoặc những phẩm chất hoặc đặc thù của

🇹🇭Thai

ลักษณะ

อธิบายหรือพรรณนาถึงลักษณะหรือคุณสมบัติหรือลักษณะเฉพาะของ

🇮🇩Indonesian

mencirikan

menggambarkan atau menggambarkan karakter atau kualitas atau kekhasan

🇵🇭Filipino

katangian

ilarawan o ilarawan ang karakter o ang mga katangian o kakaiba ng

🇲🇾Malay

mencirikan

menggambarkan atau menggambarkan watak atau kualiti atau keanehan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

تميز

وصف أو تصوير الشخصية أو الصفات أو الخصائص

🇮🇷Persian

مشخص کردن

شخصیت یا ویژگی ها یا ویژگی های آن را توصیف یا به تصویر می کشد

🇹🇷Turkish

karakterize etmek

karakterini veya niteliklerini veya özelliklerini tanımlamak veya tasvir etmek

🇮🇱Hebrew

לאפיין

לתאר או לתאר את הדמות או את התכונות או המוזרויות של

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'characterize'?

The primary meaning of 'characterize' is 'describe or portray the character or the qualities or peculiarities of'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'characterize' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'characterize' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'characterize' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'characterize' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'characterize' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'characterize' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'characterize' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'characterize' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'characterize' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'characterize' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted