characterlessadj.

Brit.

/ˈkarᵻktələs/, U.S.

/ˈkɛr(ə)ktərləs/

Forms: see character n. and -less suffix.

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: character n., -less suffix.

Etymology: < character n. + -less suffix. With sense 2 compare German charakterlos (1787 or earlier).

1. Lacking a distinctive character; having no individuality or personality.

a. Of a thing. Also: not revealing of individual character.

ΚΠ

1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. ii. 184 Mighty states character-les are grated, To dusty nothing.

1795 J. Collard Epitome of Logic i. iv. 28 This characterless matter..forms a great part of each succeeding tribe of beings.

a1834 S. T. Coleridge Specimens of Table Talk (1835) I. 127 Shakspeare's poetry is characterless; that is, it does not reflect the individual Shakspeare.

1865 J. H. Stirling Secret of Hegel II. iii. i. 56 Being..absolutely abstract is an absolutely necessary thought; but it is characterless, it is nothing.

1905 W. H. Hunt Pre-Raphaelitism II. 419 Actuality, without which all painting is characterless and unpersuasive.

1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 20 Dec. b12 Kiss's..melodyless, lyricless music is so loudly repetitious as to be almost characterless.

2011 R. Sellers Don't let Bastards grind you Down i. 6 The residents moved to live in the sky in characterless tower blocks twenty storeys high.

b. Of a person or aggregate of people.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > uniformity > [adjective] > characterless > of persons

characterless1806

grey1893

samey1929

Stepford1972

1806 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 25 Oct. 659 Lord Percy is yet a boy, utterly characterless and unknown to any.

1832 Atlas 8 July 441/2 They are a characterless, insipid couple; and as the audience have not the slightest interest in them, their amour is only an impertinence.

a1834 S. T. Coleridge Specimens of Table Talk (1835) I. 213 Shakspeare..saw that it..was the perfection of woman to be characterless. Every one wishes a Desdemona or Ophelia for a wife.

1885 M. Pattison Mem. i. 49 Surely no boy ever reached eighteen so unformed and characterless as I was!

1931 W. Lewis in Time & Tide 25 July 883 Thousands of women far better fitted to continue the race than the indolent characterless chocolate-box-faced monsters of prettiness in vogue at the time [etc.].

1969 R. F. Christian Tolstoy viii. 237 He is characterless and featureless except in so far as he resembles other people in what he does and where he lives.

2009 J. Cogburn & M. Silcox Philos. through Video Games iv. 90 It would be much less fun living in a giant house if..one's only friends are a tribe of characterless sycophants.

2. Lacking strongly developed moral and mental qualities or a reputation for these; immoral, disreputable. Also: without a character reference.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > [adjective] > of ill repute

unhonesta1382

ill-famed1483

scoury?a1513

renownless1552

uncredited1586

bankrupt1601

discredited1605

disopinioned1622

creditless1660

unreputable1688

irreputable1709

low-lifed?1750

louche1819

characterless1825

disreputable1828

pikey1838

shady1862

lowlife1939

sleazoid1976

1825 J. W. Lake in Ld. Byron Compl. Wks. I. p. xlii Every one of them utterly battered in reputation long before be came into contact with them—licentious, unprincipled, characterless women.

1841 Chartist Circular 15 May 364/3 Instant dismissal characterless is but one of the pains and penalties he will have subjected himself to.

1864 F. W. Robinson Mattie II. 78 Who went away characterless in a world ever ready to believe the worst.

1893 Weekly Sun 19 Nov. 3/2 I was treated as a sort of heroine, Mary praising me for my pluck in asking for better breakfasts,..Annie always bewailing my characterless state.

1915 Watson's Mag. Nov. 39/2 We do not hang white men in Georgia on the unsupported evidence of a characterless negro witness.

1943 J. P. Cannon Struggle for Proletarian Party i. iv. 28 This group [sc. Lovestoneites]..took its name from the characterless adventurer who has been its leader.

1990 M. F. Gilbert tr. A. Hitler Speeches & Proclam. I. 372 The dishonorable and characterless negotiator will be rejected by his own people.

Derivatives

ˈcharacterlessness n. [originally after German Charakterlosigkeit (1795)]

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > uniformity > [noun] > characterlessness

unpersonality1821

characterlessness1822

dispersonification1873

sameliness1897

depersonalization1907

depersonalizing1919

facelessness1929

1822 London Lit. Gaz. 19 Oct. 664/1 He is a complete milksop (dawdle, or some other word expressive of want of a character of his own, the German expression in this place being, ‘He is characterlessness personified’).

a1834 S. T. Coleridge Specimens of Table Talk (1835) I. 61 A notion of re-introducing the characterlessness of the Greek tragedy with a chorus.

1884 Contemp. Rev. Nov. 655 A sort of cosmopolitan characterlessness marked the nation.

1948 C. S. Fox tr. W. Röpke Civitas Humana iv. 113 A social system of which characterlessness, bent backs, and tight lips become the indubitable and certain features.

2009 A. Baraka Digging ii. xxxiv. 211 So old looking and formal it's a sharp but pleasurable contrast to regular U.S. out of the box characterlessness.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	characterless
释义	characterlessadj. Brit. /ˈkarᵻktələs/, U.S. /ˈkɛr(ə)ktərləs/ Forms: see character n. and -less suffix. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: character n., -less suffix. Etymology: < character n. + -less suffix. With sense 2 compare German charakterlos (1787 or earlier). 1. Lacking a distinctive character; having no individuality or personality. a. Of a thing. Also: not revealing of individual character. ΚΠ 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. ii. 184 Mighty states character-les are grated, To dusty nothing. View more context for this quotation 1795 J. Collard Epitome of Logic i. iv. 28 This characterless matter..forms a great part of each succeeding tribe of beings. a1834 S. T. Coleridge Specimens of Table Talk (1835) I. 127 Shakspeare's poetry is characterless; that is, it does not reflect the individual Shakspeare. 1865 J. H. Stirling Secret of Hegel II. iii. i. 56 Being..absolutely abstract is an absolutely necessary thought; but it is characterless, it is nothing. 1905 W. H. Hunt Pre-Raphaelitism II. 419 Actuality, without which all painting is characterless and unpersuasive. 1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 20 Dec. b12 Kiss's..melodyless, lyricless music is so loudly repetitious as to be almost characterless. 2011 R. Sellers Don't let Bastards grind you Down i. 6 The residents moved to live in the sky in characterless tower blocks twenty storeys high. b. Of a person or aggregate of people. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > uniformity > [adjective] > characterless > of persons characterless1806 grey1893 samey1929 Stepford1972 1806 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 25 Oct. 659 Lord Percy is yet a boy, utterly characterless and unknown to any. 1832 Atlas 8 July 441/2 They are a characterless, insipid couple; and as the audience have not the slightest interest in them, their amour is only an impertinence. a1834 S. T. Coleridge Specimens of Table Talk (1835) I. 213 Shakspeare..saw that it..was the perfection of woman to be characterless. Every one wishes a Desdemona or Ophelia for a wife. 1885 M. Pattison Mem. i. 49 Surely no boy ever reached eighteen so unformed and characterless as I was! 1931 W. Lewis in Time & Tide 25 July 883 Thousands of women far better fitted to continue the race than the indolent characterless chocolate-box-faced monsters of prettiness in vogue at the time [etc.]. 1969 R. F. Christian Tolstoy viii. 237 He is characterless and featureless except in so far as he resembles other people in what he does and where he lives. 2009 J. Cogburn & M. Silcox Philos. through Video Games iv. 90 It would be much less fun living in a giant house if..one's only friends are a tribe of characterless sycophants. 2. Lacking strongly developed moral and mental qualities or a reputation for these; immoral, disreputable. Also: without a character reference. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > [adjective] > of ill repute unhonesta1382 ill-famed1483 scoury?a1513 renownless1552 uncredited1586 bankrupt1601 discredited1605 disopinioned1622 creditless1660 unreputable1688 irreputable1709 low-lifed?1750 louche1819 characterless1825 disreputable1828 pikey1838 shady1862 lowlife1939 sleazoid1976 1825 J. W. Lake in Ld. Byron Compl. Wks. I. p. xlii Every one of them utterly battered in reputation long before be came into contact with them—licentious, unprincipled, characterless women. 1841 Chartist Circular 15 May 364/3 Instant dismissal characterless is but one of the pains and penalties he will have subjected himself to. 1864 F. W. Robinson Mattie II. 78 Who went away characterless in a world ever ready to believe the worst. 1893 Weekly Sun 19 Nov. 3/2 I was treated as a sort of heroine, Mary praising me for my pluck in asking for better breakfasts,..Annie always bewailing my characterless state. 1915 Watson's Mag. Nov. 39/2 We do not hang white men in Georgia on the unsupported evidence of a characterless negro witness. 1943 J. P. Cannon Struggle for Proletarian Party i. iv. 28 This group [sc. Lovestoneites]..took its name from the characterless adventurer who has been its leader. 1990 M. F. Gilbert tr. A. Hitler Speeches & Proclam. I. 372 The dishonorable and characterless negotiator will be rejected by his own people. Derivatives ˈcharacterlessness n. [originally after German Charakterlosigkeit (1795)] ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > uniformity > [noun] > characterlessness unpersonality1821 characterlessness1822 dispersonification1873 sameliness1897 depersonalization1907 depersonalizing1919 facelessness1929 1822 London Lit. Gaz. 19 Oct. 664/1 He is a complete milksop (dawdle, or some other word expressive of want of a character of his own, the German expression in this place being, ‘He is characterlessness personified’). a1834 S. T. Coleridge Specimens of Table Talk (1835) I. 61 A notion of re-introducing the characterlessness of the Greek tragedy with a chorus. 1884 Contemp. Rev. Nov. 655 A sort of cosmopolitan characterlessness marked the nation. 1948 C. S. Fox tr. W. Röpke Civitas Humana iv. 113 A social system of which characterlessness, bent backs, and tight lips become the indubitable and certain features. 2009 A. Baraka Digging ii. xxxiv. 211 So old looking and formal it's a sharp but pleasurable contrast to regular U.S. out of the box characterlessness. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.1609
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