The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Characterize \Char"ac*ter*ize\, v. t. [imp. & p. p.
   Characterized; p. pr. & vb. n. Characterizing.] [LL.
   characterizare, Gr. ?: cf. F. charact['e]riser.]
   1. To make distinct and recognizable by peculiar marks or
      traits; to make with distinctive features.
      [1913 Webster]

            European, Asiatic, Chinese, African, and Grecian
            faces are Characterized.              --Arbuthnot.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To engrave or imprint. [Obs.] --Sir M. Hale.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To indicate the character of; to describe.
      [1913 Webster]

            Under the name of Tamerlane he intended to
            characterize King William.            --Johnson.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. To be a characteristic of; to make, or express the
      character of.
      [1913 Webster]

            The softness and effeminacy which characterize the
            men of rank in most countries.        --W. Irving.

   5. (Chem.) to identify the structure or nature of; as, the
      antibiotic activity in the sample was characterized by
      HPLC, and proved to be erythromycin.
      [PJC]

   Syn: To describe; distinguish; mark; designate; style;
        particularize; entitle.
        [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

characterize
    v 1: describe or portray the character or the qualities or
         peculiarities of; "You can characterize his behavior as
         that of an egotist"; "This poem can be characterized as a
         lament for a dead lover" [syn: qualify, characterize,
         characterise]
    2: be characteristic of; "What characterizes a Venetian
       painting?" [syn: characterize, characterise]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

93 Moby Thesaurus words for "characterize":
   adumbrate, argue, be characteristic, be indicative of,
   be significant of, be symptomatic of, bespeak, betoken, block out,
   brand, bring to life, catch a likeness, chalk out, character,
   chart, connote, define, delineate, demarcate, denominate, denote,
   depict, describe, diagram, differentiate, disclose, display,
   distinguish, draft, draw, earmark, entail, evoke, express,
   give evidence, give token, give words to, highlight, hint, hit off,
   identify, indicate, individualize, individuate, involve, keynote,
   label, limn, manifest, map, mark, mark off, mark out, mean, notate,
   note, outline, paint, peculiarize, personalize, picture, picturize,
   portray, print, qualify, register, render, represent, reveal,
   rough out, rub, schematize, set apart, set forth, set the pace,
   set the tone, show, signalize, signify, skeleton, sketch,
   sound the keynote, stand for, suggest, symbolize, symptomatize,
   symptomize, take a rubbing, testify, trace, trace out, trace over,
   write