characterize
char·ac·ter·ize/ˈkɛɹəktəɹaɪz/verb
characterize is spelled C-H-A-R-A-C-T-E-R-I-Z-E: 12 letters and 4 syllables (char·ac·ter·ize). It appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, characterize means “To depict someone or something a particular way (often negative)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in characterize?
| Letters | 12: C-H-A-R-A-C-T-E-R-I-Z-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: char·ac·ter·ize |
| In writing | 2.1 times per million words; the 19,077th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is characterize?
Characterize appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce characterize?
- UK /ˈkæɹəktəɹaɪz/
- US /ˈkɛɹəktəɹaɪz/
- US /ˈkæɹəktəɹaɪz/
Characterize has 4 syllables, split char·ac·ter·ize in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-characterize.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with characterize
Also written: characterise.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of characterize
- characterizes present, singular, he/she/it
- characterizing participle, present
- characterized participle, past
- characterise
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does characterize mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To depict someone or something a particular way (often negative).
- 2
To be typical of.
- 3
To determine the characteristics of.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Characterize in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | caractériser, dépeindre , définir |
| German | charakterisieren , bezeichnen, ausmachen |
| Portuguese | caracterizar, caraterizar |
| Spanish | caracterizar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does characterize come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).