characterize

Word family

char·ac·ter·ize (also characterise British EnglishBrE) /ˈkærəktəraɪz/ W3 verb [transitiveT]

1 DESCRIBEto describe the qualities of someone or something in a particular way 描述…的特性；描绘 SYN portray

characterize somebody as (being) something

The group was characterized as being well-educated and liberal.

该群体被描绘成受过良好教育，思想开明。

2 TYPICALto be typical of a person, place, or thing 〔人、地方或事物〕以…为特征，以…为典型

Bright colours characterize his paintings.

明亮的色彩是他绘画作品的特点。

Examples from the Corpus

characterize• On the basis of many types of psychological testing of individuals, the researchers characterized a personality syndrome they termed authoritarianism.• The settlement and infrastructure field is also characterized by a wide range of users with a great diversity of interests.• Second, the political world is characterized by political stratification.• Robinson's photographs are characterized by the intense contrasts of dark and light areas, and the consequent loss of detail.• Natural law thinking is characterized by two major problems.• He has the confidence that characterizes successful businessmen.• We approached the big empty square that characterizes the centre of Chinese cities.• Far from being accidents, these things characterized the very foundation of what it supposedly meant to experience gay liberation.• It provides an extraordinarily careful and detailed picture and records - factually and unemotionally - the abuses which characterized the whole system.• In trying to characterize these roles, it is not easy to avoid oversimplification.

characterize somebody as (being) something• While there, Levada worked under Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who has characterized homosexuality as a disorder.• A State Department spokesman, also displaying a talent for diplomacy, declined to characterize the appointment as a promotion.• The issue dominated the campaign, prompting many commentators to characterize the election as a virtual referendum on the independence issue.• This perhaps explains the strident colors which characterize his paintings as certainly it suggests the source of their extreme verisimilitude.• Kerzner has denied breaking the law, and Sun has characterized the episode as commercial extortion.• He intends to plead not guilty, according to his lawyer, Plato Cacheris, who characterized his client as emotionally distraught.• My question was to we have to characterize it as excellent?• Scientists characterize the humanities as uncertain, vague and irrelevant.

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus

TOEFL IELTS BNC: 4894 COCA: 2859

characterize

To categorize things: sort, classify, characterize...