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Characterize

//ˈkæɹəktəɹaɪz// verb

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To depict someone or something a particular way (often negative). transitive

    "[Stephen] Miller’s uncle, a neuroscientist, has been welcomed onto the public stage for his denunciations of his nephew’s immigration policies, which the elder Miller has characterized as hypocritical: the Millers’ not-so-distant Jewish ancestors were, of course, immigrants themselves."

  2. 2
    describe or portray the character or the qualities or peculiarities of wordnet
  3. 3
    To be typical of. transitive

    "There is no way to avoid the slight cups, crooks, bows and twists that characterize wood."

  4. 4
    be characteristic of wordnet
  5. 5
    To determine the characteristics of. transitive

    "The second level of reading we will call Inspectional Reading. It is characterized by its special emphasis on time."

Etymology

From Medieval Latin charactērizō, from Ancient Greek χαρακτηρίζω (kharaktērízō, “to designate by a characteristic mark”), from χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “a mark, character”). By surface analysis, character + -ize.

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