characterization

English

Alternative forms

• characterisation (Commonwealth)

Etymology

characterize +‎ -ation.

Noun

characterization (plural characterizations)

1. The act or process of characterizing.

   Hyponyms: mischaracterization, recharacterization; misportrayal, misrepresentation

   Near-synonyms: portrayal, representation; definition

   • 1866, Josiah Gilbert Holland, The Life of Abraham Lincoln:

     It was while he was performing the duties of the store that he acquired the soubriquet "Honest Abe"--a characterization that he never dishonored, and an abbreviation that he never outgrew.

   • 1901, Epiphanius Wilson, Introduction to the Dramas of Balzac:

     The art of characterization exhibited by the author fascinates us; we gaze and examine as if we were face to face with real personages, whose passions are laid bare, whose life is traced, whose countenance is portrayed with miraculousness, distinctness and verisimilitude.

Derived terms

• biocharacterization
• characterizational
• immunocharacterization
• microcharacterization
• nanocharacterization
• recharacterization
• self-characterization
• subcharacterization

 

Translations

act or process of characterizing

• Asturian: carauterización f
• Bulgarian: характеризиране n (harakterizirane)
• Catalan: caracterització f
• Czech: charakterizace f
• Finnish: luonnehtiminen (fi), luonnehdinta (fi)
• French: caractérisation (fr) f
• Galician: caracterización (gl) f
• German: Charakterisierung (de) f
• Greek: χαρακτηρισμός (el) m (charaktirismós)

  Ancient: ἠθοποιία f (ēthopoiía)

• Indonesian: penokohan (id)
• Irish: carachtracht f
• Italian: caratterizzazione (it) f
• Latvian: raksturošana f, raksturojums m
• Malay: perwatakan (ms)
• Portuguese: caracterização (pt) f (Brazil, Portugal), caraterização f (Portugal)
• Romanian: caracterizare (ro) f
• Russian: характери́стика (ru) f (xarakterístika)
• Spanish: caracterización
• Yoruba: ìfìwàwẹ̀dá

Further reading

• “characterization”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “characterize”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “characterization”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.