Characterize \Char"ac*ter*ize\, v. t. [imp. & p. p.
Characterized; p. pr. & vb. n. Characterizing.] [LL.
characterizare, Gr. ?: cf. F. charact['e]riser.]
1. To make distinct and recognizable by peculiar marks or
traits; to make with distinctive features.
[1913 Webster]
European, Asiatic, Chinese, African, and Grecian
faces are Characterized. --Arbuthnot.
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2. To engrave or imprint. [Obs.] --Sir M. Hale.
[1913 Webster]
3. To indicate the character of; to describe.
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Under the name of Tamerlane he intended to
characterize King William. --Johnson.
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4. To be a characteristic of; to make, or express the
character of.
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The softness and effeminacy which characterize the
men of rank in most countries. --W. Irving.
5. (Chem.) to identify the structure or nature of; as, the
antibiotic activity in the sample was characterized by
HPLC, and proved to be erythromycin.
[PJC]
Syn: To describe; distinguish; mark; designate; style;
particularize; entitle.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
characterize
v 1: 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" [syn: qualify, characterise]
2: be characteristic of; "What characterizes a Venetian
painting?" [syn: characterise]
WordNet (r) 2.0
93 Moby Thesaurus words for "characterize":
adumbrate, argue, be characteristic, be indicative of,
be significant of, be symptomatic of, bespeak, betoken, block out,
brand, bring to life, catch a likeness, chalk out, character,
chart, connote, define, delineate, demarcate, denominate, denote,
depict, describe, diagram, differentiate, disclose, display,
distinguish, draft, draw, earmark, entail, evoke, express,
give evidence, give token, give words to, highlight, hint, hit off,
identify, indicate, individualize, individuate, involve, keynote,
label, limn, manifest, map, mark, mark off, mark out, mean, notate,
note, outline, paint, peculiarize, personalize, picture, picturize,
portray, print, qualify, register, render, represent, reveal,
rough out, rub, schematize, set apart, set forth, set the pace,
set the tone, show, signalize, signify, skeleton, sketch,
sound the keynote, stand for, suggest, symbolize, symptomatize,
symptomize, take a rubbing, testify, trace, trace out, trace over,
write
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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