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characterize

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verb [transitive] British English pronunciation: characterize /ˈkærɪktəraɪz/ 
Word Forms
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present tense
I/you/we/theycharacterize
he/she/itcharacterizes
present participlecharacterizing
past tensecharacterized
past participlecharacterized
  1. 1
    to be a typical quality or feature of someone or something

    the rice fields and temples that characterize the island

    be characterized by something (=have something as a typical quality or feature):

    The 1980s were characterized by high inflation and high unemployment.

  2. 2
    to describe someone or something as a particular type of person or thing
    characterize someone/something as something:

    The military is usually characterized as being very conservative.

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