Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use characterize in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb

Characterize means to depict someone or something a particular way (often negative). Example: “Haredi Judaism is a stream of Orthodox Judaism characterized by rejection of modern secular culture.”

Examples of characterize by meaning

verbTo be typical of.

  • There is no way to avoid the slight cups, crooks, bows and twists that characterize wood.1980, Robert M. Jones, editor, Walls and Ceilings, Time-Life Books, →ISBN, page 82

verbTo determine the characteristics of.

  • It is characterized by its special emphasis on time.1972, Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 18
  • This glossary includes terminology used in coastal science, engineering, geology, management, nearshore oceanography and the technologies that characterize, measure, describe or quantify the physical properties, processes and changes of the coastal zone.1998, Brian Voigt, “Glossary of Coastal Terminology”, in Department of Ecology Publication No. 98-105

More sentences with characterize

  • Haredi Judaism is a stream of Orthodox Judaism characterized by rejection of modern secular culture.From the entry stream
  • Tautomerism is chemical isomerism characterized by relatively easy interconversion of isomeric forms in equilibrium.From the entry interconversion
  • Pneumonia is often characterized by crepitant rales coming from within the patient's chest.From the entry crepitant
  • The Edisonian approach to innovation is characterized by trial-and-error discovery rather than a systematic theoretical approach.From the entry Edisonian
  • Counterpropaganda that seeks to characterize an opposing propaganda as a false message is a form of metapropaganda.From the entry metapropaganda
  • Italianate — “characterized by Italian features”From the entry -ate
  • The ectomorph body type is characterized by narrow shoulders and hips and a lean build.2025 February 6, Laura Schober, “Everything To Know About Having an Ectomorph Body Type”, in Health. From the entry ectomorph
  • This subculture is characterized by the adoption of deliberately transgressive online personas within specific, restricted-access groups.(Can we date this quote?), Aesthetics Wiki, archived from the original on 06 Jun 2025. From the entry Larpercore
  • StandWithUs has characterized several proposed agenda items being discussed as antisemitic.2024 July 3, Rebekah Reiss, “Pro-Israel education group warns of ‘antisemitism and anti-Israel bias’ in teachers’ union proposals”, in CNN. From the entry NEA
  • Also known as “pop opera,” the sung-through musical is characterized by having little or no spoken dialogue.2024 October 10, Jim Patterson, Tim Donahue, A Concise History of Theatre, BoD – Books on Demand, →ISBN, page 271. From the entry sung-through
  • Flash drought, characterized by unusually rapid drying, can have substantial impact on many socioeconomic sectors, particularly agriculture.2023 May 25, Jordan I. Christian, Elinor R. Martin, Jeffrey B. Basara, Jason C. Furtado, Jason A. Otkin, “Global projections of flash…. From the entry flash drought
  • Yet, you have the gall to characterize the Foundation's ongoing political interventions and military operations as squabbles."2022 October 18, Placeholder McD, “SCP-7579 [offset 1]”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 20 Dec 2024. From the entry gall
  • Bauters, who characterizes these opinions as "car brain," dresses down his opponents at meetings.2022 March 28, Rachel Swan, “Meet the Bay Area mayor who wants to persuade you to get rid of your car”, in San Francisco Chronicle…. From the entry car brain
  • The WTO dispute settlement mechanism is characterized by weaknesses such as non-retroactive damages.2020, Anu Bradford, “8. Is the Brussels Effect Beneficial?”, in The Brussels Effect. How the European Union Rules the World, Oxford…. From the entry damages
  • The current times are characterized by a proliferation of data in a number of fields.2020, Ali R. Hurson, editor, Advances in Computers, volume 119, Academic Press, →ISBN, page 122. From the entry ronnabyte
  • (B) Tertiary stage: Esthiomene characterized by elephantiasis and chronic ulceration of vulva.2019, Neena Khanna, Illustrated Synopsis of Dermatology & Sexually Transmitted Diseases-Ebk, Elsevier India, →ISBN, page 322. From the entry esthiomene
  • The Beshtian School, faithful to this concept of song, was characterized primarily by happy-sounding and rhythmic melodies.2017, Velvel Pasternak, Behind the Music, Stories, Anecdotes, Articles and Reflections, page 226. From the entry rhythmic
  • There was neither snark nor megalomania in it, as characterized so many smiles these days.2017, Dean Koontz, The Silent Corner, page 54. From the entry snark
  • She characterized the checkups as a public health success story, not a security measure.2017 December 17, Gerry Shih, “AP Exclusive: Digital police state shackles Chinese minority”, in AP News, archived from the original on 28…. From the entry Kashgar
  • Phenomenal properties are properties characterizing what it is like to be a conscious subject.2017, David J. Chalmers, “The Combination Problem for Panpsychism”, in Godehard Brüntrup, Ludwig Jaskolla, editors, Panpsychism…. From the entry macrophenomenal
  • Clearly, then, this is not a disease characterized by the desire to be attractive to others.2017, Jeffery Sobal, Weighty Issues: Fatness and Thinness as Social Problems, page 148. From the entry unshamefully
  • The choroid is characterized by Dilated and Attenuated (DA) type (arrowheads), choroidal vascular dilation, and choroidal hyperthickening.2016 January 15, “Morphologic Characteristics of Choroid in the Major Choroidal Thickening Diseases, Studied by Optical Coherence…. From the entry hyperthickening
  • The EPS was characterized and its properties as a bioadsorbent were determined.2016 February 2, “Metal-Induced Production of a Novel Bioadsorbent Exopolysaccharide in a Native Rhodotorula mucilaginosa from the Mexican…. From the entry bioadsorbent
  • Rupioid, elephantine, and ostraceous psoriasis are special forms of plaque psoriasis characterized by gross hyperkeratosis.2016, Jayakar Thomas, Textbook of Psoriasis, →ISBN, page 46. From the entry ostraceous
  • We have previously characterized a family 11 xylanase, Xyn11A-LC from alkalophilic Bacillus sp.2015 July 11, “Structural Insight into and Mutational Analysis of Family 11 Xylanases: Implications for Mechanisms of Higher pH Catalytic…. From the entry alkalophilic
  • They are characterized by having only cutaneous presentation, with no evidence of extracutaneous lesion after adequate staging.2015, Mariana Isis Wanczinsnki et al., “Primary cutaneous follicle center lymphoma simulating basal-cell carcinoma on the nasal ala*”, in…. From the entry extracutaneous
  • The modal analysis was used to characterize the eigenoscillation behaviour of the structure without external excitation.2015 August 5, “Characterization of Dynamic Behaviour of MCF7 and MCF10A Cells in Ultrasonic Field Using Modal and Harmonic Analyses”, in…. From the entry eigenoscillation
  • Spondyloenchondrodysplasia (SPENCD) is a rare skeletal dysplasia, characterized by enchondromatous non-ossifying metaphyseal and spondylar lesions.2015 September 7, Hermann Girschick et al., “Severe immune dysregulation with neurological impairment and minor bone changes in a child…. From the entry enchondromatous
  • Thus, endothelial expression of AQP1 characterizes the atheroprotected, non-inflamed vessel wall.2015 December 31, “Expression of Nitric Oxide-Transporting Aquaporin-1 Is Controlled by KLF2 and Marks Non-Activated Endothelium In Vivo”…. From the entry atheroprotected
  • First, we demonstrate the presence of small postsynaptic vesicles and characterize their size and intrasynaptic localization.2015 October 22, “Postsynaptic VAMP/Synaptobrevin Facilitates Differential Vesicle Trafficking of GluA1 and GluA2 AMPA Receptor Subunits”…. From the entry intrasynaptic
  • Kac (Deleuzianly) calls this “biological assemblage” a device that characterizes all his investigations.2015, Matthew Bush, Technology, Literature, and Digital Culture in Latin America. From the entry Deleuzianly
  • Neurologic dysurias are among the most difficult to characterize and to treat.2012, Richard B. Ford, Elisa Mazzaferro, Kirk & Bistner's Handbook of Veterinary Procedures and Emergency Treatment, Elsevier, page 426. From the entry dysuria
  • In the same study, they characterized electrophysiological signals made by the brain during lucid and nonlucid dreams.2012, Deirdre Barrett, Patrick McNamara, Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreams. From the entry nonlucid
  • It is characterized by hydrophobia, aerophobia, and episodic generalized arousal interrupted by periods of lucidity.2011 September 22, Daniel D. Truong, Robert P. Lisak, Roongroj Bhidayasiri, William Carroll, International Neurology, →ISBN, page 321. From the entry aerophobia
  • The authors advocate for combined therapy in cases of severe encephalomyelitis characterized by encephalomyeloradiculoneuropathy.2011, Dorothée Chabas, Emmanuelle L. Waubant, Demyelinating Disorders of the Central Nervous System in Childhood, page 215. From the entry encephalomyeloradiculoneuropathy
  • Many contemporary industrial societies are characterized by the condition some writers call "affluenza".2010, Andrew Brennan, Y. S. Lo, “Beyond Individual Responsibility: Governance and the Affluenzic Society”, in Understanding Environmental…. From the entry affluenza
  • First Great Western trains are often characterized by this curious air of panic.2010, Matthew Engel, Eleven Minutes Late: A Train Journey to the Soul of Britain. From the entry slam-door

Meaning of characterize

  1. verb To depict someone or something a particular way (often negative).
  2. verb To be typical of.
  3. verb To determine the characteristics of.

Full definition of characterize

Questions about characterize in a sentence

How do you use characterize in a sentence?
Characterize is used as a verb. For example: “Haredi Judaism is a stream of Orthodox Judaism characterized by rejection of modern secular culture.”
What is a short sentence with characterize?
“Italianate — “characterized by Italian features””
What does characterize mean?
Characterize means to depict someone or something a particular way (often negative).

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: characterize (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use characterize in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/characterize. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.