characterises

Characterises is the third-person singular present tense of the verb characterise, used in British English. To characterise means to describe the distinctive qualities, features, or nature of something; to identify the traits that distinguish it from others; or to define what something is like. The term is common in academic, analytical, and descriptive writing and can apply to people, objects, processes, phenomena, or ideas. In literature and media, to characterise a figure also means to present or develop that character’s traits as part of a narrative.

Etymology and spelling variations arise from the British English form characterise, which comes from the noun character plus the -ise suffix. It is historically derived from French caractériser and Latin characterizare, ultimately from Greek charakterizein. In American English the corresponding verb is characterized or characterizes, with the -ize spelling. The related noun forms are characterisation (British) and characterization (American), while the adjective is characteristic.

Usage notes include that characterises is typically used in formal or semi-formal writing in British contexts. When writing for American audiences, characterize is preferred. The term is widely used across disciplines—sciences, social sciences, humanities—to indicate the process of describing, identifying, or quantifying the defining properties of a subject.