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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Characterize \Char"ac*ter*ize\, verb (used with an object) [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.
European, Asiatic, Chinese, African, and Grecian faces are Characterized. --Arbuthnot.
2. To engrave or imprint. [Obs.] --Sir M. Hale.
3. To indicate the character of; to describe.
Under the name of Tamerlane he intended to characterize King William. --Johnson.
4. To be a characteristic of; to make, or express the character of.
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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
characterize
verb
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}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
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
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