charakterisierten

Charakterisierten is a German verb form derived from charakterisieren, meaning to characterize or to describe the character of someone or something. The base verb is regular with the -ieren suffix common to many German loanwords. Charakterisierten is the Präteritum (simple past) form used for plural subjects, specifically wir (we) and sie (they).

Etymology and form: The verb charakterisieren combines character/ Charakter with the suffix -isieren, signaling a causative or descriptive action. In the Präteritum, the endings for this class include -ierten for plural subjects, yielding charakterisierten for wir and sie. The past participle is charakterisiert and is used with auxiliary verbs to form the Perfekt.

Usage and register: Charakterisieren denotes a deliberate description of the qualities or features of a person, object, text, or phenomenon. It is common in formal, academic, and analytical writing. In everyday speech, speakers more often use the Perfekt form (zum Beispiel: wir haben charakterisiert) rather than the Präteritum. The phrase "als ... charakterisieren" is frequently used to label how someone or something is described.

Examples: Wir charakterisierten die Ergebnisse als signifikant. Die Forscher charakterisierten den Probanden als vorsichtig. In literarischen Texten ist charakterisieren verbreitet, um Figurenprofile oder thematische Merkmale präzise zu schildern.

See also: charakterisieren, Charakterisierung, Beschreibung. Note: Charakterisieren and its past tense forms belong to the broader category of descriptive verbs in German, often appearing in analytic or evaluative passages.