characterizes
UK spellingcharacterises
- 1Third-person singular simple present of characterize.
A dry wit characterizes much of his early writing.
The committee report characterizes the policy as a costly failure.
Note
The -s form carries all three meanings of the verb, and its subject usually shows which one is meant. When a trait is the subject, it means "is typical of": a dry wit characterizes the writing. When a person or a report is the subject, usually followed by as, it means "depicts", often unflatteringly. It always takes an object, including in the scientific sense of determining a thing's properties.
characterizes is a form of characterize
characterize, verb: To depict or describe someone or something in a particular way, often negatively. Full entry
- Forms
- characterizecharacterizes he/she/itcharacterizing -ing formcharacterized past tense, past participle
- Spelling
- characterize → characterizes: add -s
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /ɪz/, an extra syllable.
Use it in a sentence
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